Hunted
by SpicyPepper-SweetSugar
Summary: "Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master." (Full summary inside!) Rating might go up, depending on how brave I'm feeling. R&R. COMPLETELY AU Olicity slow burn!
1. The Mission

_**Note: Hey guys! So let me just tell you one thing first: I have NOT forgotten about "Alternate" and I am not just "starting another new fic" by posting this. Actually, I've had this on my computer for quite some time now and I've been thinking about posting it just to see what you guys would think. It's a completely AU story, involving supernatural elements, so if you aren't into fangs and claws, I suggest you backtrack and check out some other fics instead! ;)**_

_**Either way, this is the first chapter. I have three others finished as of now, but I can't promise quick updates on this story because honestly, I'm taking things as they come. "Alternate" is my first priority at the moment and when that one is done, I'm hoping to fill out some prompts (send them to me on tumblr!) before jumping into this fic head first. Then I have a Vampire Diaries fic that I need to get back to because (shame on me) I haven't updated anything there for over a month and a half (It's a wonder I'm still getting reviews there!).**_

_**So, for now, please enjoy this and TELL ME if you think this is completely crazy or whatever. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but mean comments are not! ;)**_

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Summary: Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Mission<strong>

Five years.

He had survived five years on an island, seen things that weren't supposed to exist and learned how to get rid of those things to protect the people in the city he grew up in. He survived and was taught to keep surviving and never give up until his mission was complete.

He had been presumed to be dead by everyone in his inner circle; his family and friends had held a funeral for him. When he returned, they had all been ecstatic, because their '_Ollie_' was back home, where he belonged. What they didn't know about him though, was that he returned with a mission, given to him by his father who was proven to have known far more about what prowled the city at night than anyone else. What his family and friends didn't know, was that not only had he survived the island of Lian Yu, but he had returned as a protector of the innocent, who either did not know or who didn't know how to defend themselves.

They were called People of Darkness, because that was exactly what they were. They roamed the streets at night, attacking innocent woman who took a walk through the park at a late hour, killing and murdering those who crossed their path and didn't know that it was better to just run.

His first master, Yao Fei, had taught him the basics of hunting them. It took him a few months to even manage to capture a bird on the island for an early dinner, but soon, with the help of Yao Fei's other friend, Slade Wilson, he learned enough martial art skills to be able to defend himself. Then, Yao Fei was murdered, in cold blood, in front of him; an execution in front of not only him, but also Slade and Yao Fei's daughter, Shado.

Shado was beautiful and always tried to see the light in any situation. She had been captured as leverage for the imprisonment of Yao Fei, but they had saved her. The young woman became his mentor after her father's death and she was also the one who taught him how to use his weapon of choice; the bow.

But all that was in the past now, because he was back. He was back and he had a mission. He was the only one that could bring down the People of Darkness, which had become an underground organization during his absence. Their hold on the city had become stronger and it angered him that the authorities had let things get so far. Starling City's regime knew the truth about the People of Darkness, as did a selected few in the police force, who took care of cases that involved them, but they were all corrupt and had allowed the disease to fester and threaten the people of the city.

For two years, Oliver Queen fought the People of Darkness in Starling City as the man who was publicly known as a simple vigilante with a bow and some arrows. He had become known as 'The Hood' because of the media and at first, everyone seemed to think he was just a man who had too much free time. No civilian saw the pattern of his kills. No one knew that the officers and the coroners who knew the truth covered up the fact that the bodies he dropped had shriveled skin and a set of fangs instead of normal teeth.

After two years, Oliver wasn't alone anymore.

John Diggle, who had been hired by Oliver's mother after Oliver's return from the dead was no longer just his bodyguard. The two of them had had a shaky beginning, with Oliver avoiding the older man as much as possible until he did a full background check on him. It wasn't until Diggle was shot and poisoned that Oliver made the decision to reveal his alter ego and tell the truth. John had been reluctant to join at first, convinced that Oliver was crazy and suffering from PTSD after his time isolated on an island, but when Oliver presented him with the details of Andrew Diggle's murder, the evidence was too strong for Diggle to ignore. John kept Oliver grounded during the two years they worked together, taking down the People of Darkness one by one, all the while working to figure out what their ultimate goal was with infecting the city.

It was a day in June that Oliver got an anonymous text message. He had been in the middle of an important board meeting at his father's company, when his phone had chimed, interrupting the head of the finance department in the middle of a presentation.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said, reaching for his phone that he had been sure he had put on silent. He looked at the screen and was presented by a mix of random numbers and letters. Frowning, he once again put the phone on silent before returning it to his pocket. "Please, continue," he nodded at the man presenting this month's profits.

_Riiing, riiing, riiing._

Oliver quickly took out his phone again, apologizing once more. "I swear I put it on silent," he told his mother, who gave him a scrutinizing look. He looked at the called-ID, but was once again presented with the jumble of letters and numbers. Turning the phone off completely, he glanced at Diggle out of the corner of his eye. The older man's poker face was in place, but in his eyes, Oliver could see that he too understood that something was up.

He couldn't pay any attention whatsoever to the rest of the presentation. Every fiber of his being was telling him that he needed to get out of the office and put on his hood for some reason. But the meeting was important, according to his mother, and he couldn't just waltz out of there like he didn't give a damn about his father's legacy.

As soon as the ten minute break started, Oliver hurried out of the room, Diggle in a tow.

"What's wrong?" Diggle asked, his voice low to make sure that no one overheard them.

"I don't know," Oliver whispered back as he turned on his phone again. "I got a text message first from an unknown number and then the person started calling me." Oliver watched as the screen lit up and blinked with a notification of 23 new text messages and nine missed phone calls.

He opened the messages, which all said the same three words:

_'Find Felicity Smoak_.'

"Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?" Diggle asked, a frown settling on his face.

"No idea," Oliver muttered, "but maybe it's better if we ditch the meeting and investigate. I mean, the same message over twenty times from the same number? That can't be a coincidence."

"Yeah, might be a good idea to go to the Foundry and put up a search," Diggle agreed.

"I'll just tell my mom that something came up-"

"What are you talking about, Oliver?" Moira Queen interrupted as she and her husband Walter Steele walked up to the pair who had been whispering. "You can't just leave in the middle of a board meeting."

"Mom," Oliver sighed. "Something important has come up and I really can't stay."

Moira crossed her arms over her chest, "Really? And what may I ask is more important than this meeting?"

Oliver just looked at his mother, wondering why he- as an adult- had to tell her where he was going and why. Of course, his mother had been insisting for him to take the lead at Queen Consolidated since his return from the island, but he had refused her wish time and again. His real reason for not wanting to become CEO had to do with his secret night life, but publicly, he had only stated that he wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility. After being home for two years, he had finally agreed to come along and at least shadow Walter, who was the acting CEO, and to learn the ropes. He made no promise whatsoever that he would take over one day, and quite frankly, his younger sister Thea had more of a natural talent when it came to businesses.

"Mom," Oliver began, but couldn't continue.

"You're staying here," Moira informed him curtly.

"Oh, Moira. Let the young man go," Walter said as he approached them. "The meeting will be over sooner than planned anyway."

"Which means he can leave _after_ the meeting is over," Moira insisted.

"Oliver doesn't have to hear what progress the Applied Sciences Division has been making this month," Walter told his wife. "Besides, it will all be written down in a report that he'll be able to read tomorrow. If Oliver has somewhere important to be, then he can go."

Oliver gave Walter an appreciative look. Things between the two of them had been rocky at first since his return. He had never expected his mother to marry his father's best friend, and it had taken Oliver half a year to actually warm up to the man. Sometimes, Oliver wondered whether Walter knew more about him than he let on, but the two of them seemed to also have a non-spoken agreement not to ask too many questions.

"Thank you, Walter," Oliver said with a curt nod. "Mother, I'll see you at home," he said, kissing her cheek before excusing himself. Diggle followed him closely as they headed for the elevator.

"You know," Diggle began, "one of these days you're going to have to learn to come up with better excuses."

"I know," Oliver bit out. "But I can't just say I have a dentist appointment whenever I need to head out in the middle of the day."

"Right," Diggle chuckled. "People would probably begin to question the amount of cavities you got while you were on that island... By the way, you never did say how you manages to keep your teeth so clean," Diggle mused.

Oliver's lips twitched up into a half smirk. "I'll tell you some day," he said. "But today, we have something much more important to do."

"Ah, yes," Diggle nodded. "The mysterious Ms. Smoak. You said the number was a mix of scrambled up letters and numbers?"

"Yes," Oliver said. They walked toward the car that was parked in the underground garage. "We need to find out who sent the message, how they got my number and most importantly: who the hell Felicity Smoak is."

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><p>"Felicity Smoak," Diggle said, pointing at the big screen in the Foundry. "Originally from Las Vegas. Went missing a couple of years back. It seems like all personal data about her has been erased, which is weird."<p>

"But there is a picture," Oliver mused, looking at the picture of the girl with dirty blonde locks. If he was being honest, she didn't look much younger than him and she certainly wasn't unattractive.

"Wait, something else popped up," Diggle said, clicking up some images. "Seems like she lived with her mother in Las Vegas before getting into MIT and graduating at an early age. No father and no information on him either."

"So she's like a genius?" Oliver quipped, eyebrow raised.

"I suppose," Diggle nodded. "Although, it doesn't say anything else about her. As I said, all records of her after MIT have been erased."

"Do you think she did it to herself?" It would make the most sense. If the girl was a computer wiz, it wouldn't be that hard for her to remove all traces of herself on the Internet and get herself a new identity.

At Oliver's question, Diggle looked up from the monitor and bowed his head in a curt nod, "Most likely."

A sigh escaped Oliver's lips as he put his hands on the desk, closing his eyes. Why would someone want him to find this girl? The even bigger question was how someone had known that he would have the resources to actually do it? It felt as if something was itching inside of him. He needed to know how much the anonymous person who had texted and called him this morning actually knew about him and his secret identity. The fact that someone other than Diggle knew his secret identity made him uneasy and he _loathed_ feeling uneasy.

"Oliver?" Diggle's voice brought him back from his thoughts and forced him to open his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, where the lights of the Foundry had begun flickering. "Are we having problems with the power?" Diggle asked.

Oliver pushed away from the table and looked up, frowning at the ever flickering lights. "We shouldn't be," he told his friend. "We got that extra generator installed last week, which means we should have power all year around, no matter if the city is experiencing any power issues."

"Then why the hell do they keep flickering like we're in a horror movie?" Diggle asked, just as the lights went out.

Oliver forced himself to not spring into immediate action and keep calm. He heard Diggle click off the safety on his gun, and Oliver slowly moved toward the desk where he knew his bow was laying. As his eyes slowly tried to adjust to the darkness that now surrounded them, he heard Diggle move from his place by the computers.

Suddenly, the biggest monitor came to life, lighting up their surroundings. Oliver blinked a few times, his eyes hurting from the brightness. He covered his eyes as he moved back, reaching for his bow at the same time as Diggle came to stand by his side, gun aimed at the monitor for some reason.

"_It's called dramatic effect, Mr. Diggle._"

The words that were written across the monitor made something inside of Oliver burn. They had been compromised- Or at least Diggle had. Whoever it was that had written the words as a reply to Diggle's earlier comment, hadn't yet mentioned Oliver, so perhaps his secret was safe at least.

The words on the monitor backspaced, erasing themselves as new words appeared.

"_Good evening, Mr. Queen, or do you prefer being called The Hood?_"

Yeah, they had definitively been compromised.

"_Why don't you speak up, now that you know that I can hear you?_"

For some reason, Oliver couldn't help but read the text in a teasing tone. It was clear that he was being mocked.

"Who are you?" Oliver spoke, looking around the lair for anything that might look like a bug.

"_Not important_," the person on the other end wrote. "_And there's no point in looking for a bug, because there isn't one._"

"Then how the hell can you, whoever you are, hear us?" Diggle asked angrily.

"_Not important,_" was written again. "_What is important however, is that you find Felicity Smoak._"

Oliver's gut tightened as he read the name that had been sent to him over twenty times that morning. "Are you the person who texted me this morning?" he practically growled.

"_No need to get upset, Mr. Queen,_" the person wrote. "_But yes._"

Oliver paused, looking over at Diggle, who slowly lowered his gun from the monitor. It was clear that there was a threat in the lair, despite there _technically_ not being a threat _inside_ the lair. There was no point in having a gun pointed at a piece of equipment.

"_Now, __on the topic of Felicity Smoak-_"

"Who is she?" Oliver asked out loud, his eyes narrowing at the monitor.

The typing stopped briefly and the cursor blinked for what seemed like ages, until the letters started appearing again.

"_Felicity Smoak is a rogue hybrid. __She left her master approximately three months ago and has managed to stay under the radar ever since. Find her._"

That familiar anger boiled inside of Oliver. Who the hell did this person think he or she was?

"I don't take orders from anyone!" he bellowed, his angry voice echoing through the Foundry. He felt Diggle shift from behind him, taking a step toward him as if showing him that he had his back, whatever his choice of action was.

"_It's important that you find her,_" the stubborn person wrote as a reply. "_Just find her_."

The three last words blinked a couple of times before the monitor turned off again, letting darkness fall over them once more. Oliver tried to draw in calming breaths through his nose, but every nerve on his body felt as if it was on fire. Someone out there knew his secret identity. Someone out there had easily hacked into their lair mainframe, which was supposed to be secure.

Oliver thought about what options he had now. He could either sit down by the computer with Diggle and try to trace back the signal that had broken through their firewalls, or he could set out in the night to look for the girl- who he now knew was one of _them_, the People of Darkness.

Felicity Smoak, the apparently newly turned hybrid, was now officially his new mission.

Oliver walked over to the case where his leather suit and hood hung as he began pulling out the clothes.

"Where are you going?" Diggle asked.

Oliver looked up at him as he picked up his container of green camouflage grease. "Isn't it obvious?" he retorted as he stood in front of the mirror and quickly applied the make-shift mask around his eyes.

"You can't seriously be going after this girl, can you?" Diggle hissed, taking a few steps closer to him.

"_Hybrid_, Diggle," Oliver corrected. "The girl is a hybrid, which means she is one of _them_, which means I have to eliminate her."

"But you know nothing about this girl except for what some mystery person who hacked our system told you," Diggle pointed out. "There's no way knowing if any of that is true!"

"I can't take that chance, Dig," Oliver said, pulling on his hood. "If Felicity Smoak turns out to be a human, I'll leave her alone, but if what anything that person told us is true, she won't be getting away from me. It doesn't matter who hacked our mainframe; if she _is_ a hybrid, I will take her off the streets as soon as I find her."

Diggle sighed deeply, but Oliver could tell that he was giving up. There was no getting through to Oliver once his mind was set on a new target.

"I know the name of one of the Dark Ones, Dig," Oliver declared. "I won't be missing the opportunity to find her and take her out."

"Despite not knowing all the facts," Diggle surmised.

Oliver replied with a curt nod, pulling his hood over his head.

"Felicity Smoak," Oliver whispered as he grabbed his bow tightly, his brain already memorizing the name for him. With one last glance at Diggle, who sent him a wary look, he bolted up the stairs of the Foundry and set out in the night.

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><p><strong>Note: Hmmm... An anonymous person setting Oliver out on a mission to find the hybrid Felicity Smoak...? What do you think will happen next? ;)<strong>

**Btw, I might as well mention that considering that Felicity is a hybrid in this story, she will be very, very...uhm...what is the word? "Bamf"? Yes, that's the one. She won't just take shit, because she can clearly protect herself. Just putting that out there.**

**Now, please feel free to tell me what you thought!**

**Lots of love (and pretty please be nice)!**

**xx**


	2. The Alley

_**Note: Hey guys! As I promised, here is the next chapter of Hunted!**  
><em>

_**I want to apologize for not getting back on your reviews, but I want you to know that I've read them all and I just didn't have time to reply! They are as always highly appreciated and I promise that I'll be getting back to you when I can! =)**_

_**That said, please enjoy this (hopefully) action filled chapter! ;)**_

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Summary: Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Alley<strong>

Running over roof-tops was something that Oliver had become accustomed to since his return from Lian Yu.

The purgatory that he had spent five years in had been more like a _hell_ than anything else. He could still recall the day he had reached the Island and buried his father who had shot himself in order for his son to have a better chance at survival. Robert Queen had most likely not even stopped a second to consider what psychological effects his suicide might have on his son, who was forced to witness it all. Not only had Robert killed himself, but a few seconds before doing so, he had also murdered a man in cold blood in front of Oliver, all to assure that Oliver would be the last man alive on the little lifeboat that they had pulled themselves up on.

Oliver would never forget that first day on the island, when he had stood up after finishing putting the last stone on his father's grave, and the raging pain he had felt, when an arrow pierced him from the back of his shoulder. The arrow had been shot by Yao Fei, who later, after revealing that he indeed did know a little English, explained to him that he had thought that Oliver was one of _them_.

Of course, when Oliver had asked for an explanation as to who exactly "them" were, he had figured that Yao Fei must be a madman for believing in creatures like vampires and werewolves.

"_You have not seen the darkness that is Lian Yu yet,_" Yao Fei had insisted. "_We stay in this cave until daylight breaks. Too dangerous outside._"

Oliver shuddered, remembering his fallen mentor's words, before jumping down on the metallic stairs of the emergency escape, climbing down. There was one particular place he had in mind tonight when he had set out on his mission. There was one place in the Glades that was particularly infested with the People of Darkness. It was a club, called _Black Rose_, and Oliver had been keeping an eye on it for quite some time. He knew that civilians sometimes wandered in there, not knowing what dangers the club actually held, but there was no way for him to make his way inside and put down all the creatures that spent their time there; especially not alone. So, the Black Rose was the only place where he didn't actually attack the People of Darkness, mostly because of the previously mentioned reason, but also because he preferred to take them down in a place where he could actually dispose of them without drawing too much attention. Killings in a nightclub would most likely draw the attention of the media, and that was the last thing he wanted. Keeping the people of this city safe depended on them not knowing the truth about the People of Darkness, and he had made his father a promise that he would rid the city of the people who corrupted it, which included the supernatural monsters that prowled the streets at night.

As he crouched down on the stairs, looking across the street at the entrance of the club that was lit up by neon lights, he turned on the comm-link in his ear.

"Diggle," he addressed the older man before waiting on a reply.

"_Oliver_." The response was curt and straight to the point, telling him by the tone used that he was there to have his back, despite not liking the plan he had made up.

"Can you please look at the security cameras by the entrance of Black Rose? I need to know what the security is like," he mumbled, his voice low because one could never know who was listening in on the conversation.

"_Black Rose, the club? The one that most Nightcrawlers spend their time in? Are you out of your mind?_" Diggle asked, his voice raised.

"If I'm going to find Felicity Smoak, that is the best place to ask around," Oliver explained calmly.

"_Yeah, sure. It's also the best place to get your head ripped off because of your status as enemy number one!_" Diggle protested.

Oliver closed his eyes and pinched the brig of his nose. "Just tell me what you see, Dig."

On the other line of the comm, Diggle huffed, but Oliver would hear his fingers clattering across the keyboard. "_It seems like there are two guards at the front entrance and two in the back. There are no cameras inside that I can get to, so there's no way to know what you'll see when you walk in,_" Diggle informed him.

"The bouncers, what are they?" Oliver wondered.

"_From the way their eyes seem to be glowing, I'd say werewolves,_" Diggle commented.

Oliver looked up from his place, at the moon that was only half full. "In that case, I'm going in through the back," he said. "It's not a full moon, so they don't have their full strength. I'll knock them out and then see what I can do once I get inside."

"_Oliver, there's no way knowing what you'll walk into,_" Diggle reminded him. "_If I were you, I'd just come back to the lair and work out another plan. A _better_ plan._"

A smirk tugged at Oliver's lips as he stood up, climbing the stairs up to the roof again. He stood by the edge of the building and took out the zip-line-arrow, knocking it on the bow before sending it flying across the street. "I appreciate your concern for me, Dig, but trust me when I tell you I'll be coming out alive of that club tonight," he confidently said. "If something goes wrong, I'll get the hell out of there as soon as possible. Disable the cameras in the back, and I'll get back to you once I'm inside."

"A_lready done. __I'll be in your ear if you need me_," Diggle said, not sounding fully convinced, before cutting the link off. With that, Oliver secured the zip-line on his side before crossing over to the other side of the street. When he dropped down on top of the club, he looked around to make sure there weren't any cameras. Of course, considering what kind of monsters that owned the club, there weren't. They didn't want anything recording them if they ever mauled an innocent inside the club and merely that thought made Oliver's blood run ice cold.

He remembered the first time he had actually seen a vampire. He had been foolish, not listening to Yao Fei's instructions to stay inside of the safe cave. Instead, he had gone out around midnight after Yao Fei had fallen asleep. He had been surprised that he'd managed to sneak out, but the older man had clearly been tired after a long day of hunting. Oliver had walked around aimlessly in the dark, until he had reached a clearing. Just as he had been about to bend down to drink some fresh water, he had heard a growling sound across the river. Looking up, he had been shocked to see a pair of red eyes looking back at him. He had moved back slowly at first before quickly scrambling back onto his feet as he turned to run back into the forest. A snarling sound could be heard behind him and he could hear branches and twigs breaking as whatever it was followed him into woods. He had tried hard not to look back, but next thing he knew, he found himself on the ground. A root had tripped him, and he rolled onto his back just in time to see a man, not much older than him _pouncing _at him. The man's red eyes glistened in the moonlight and the his exposed teeth, which were far too sharp to be called teeth, were already covered in blood. _Fangs_, had been Oliver's first thought and suddenly, Yao Fei's warnings came back to him. He had reacted purely on the little amount of instinct he seemed to have, his hand moving around the ground for anything to use as a weapon. A small wooden stick proved to be rather effective, when he had plunged it into the monster's abdomen right as it had jumped on top of him. The creature had hissed and stepped back, the piece of wood sticking out of it's stomach as it's own blood colored the shirt it was wearing. It had pulled the stick out and snarled at Oliver, before moving forward again, but luckily, Yao Fei had found him in that moment and put a wooden stake through the creature's heart.

Oliver remembered how the vampire's skin had shriveled up and turned ashen, red eyes glazing over and becoming green, almost human. But it hadn't been a human, and Oliver had killed enough Nightcrawlers since then to know that. This wasn't the time to reminisce on what he had done on that damned island. He had a mission that he wanted to finish, preferably before the end of the night.

He stalked toward the back of the building and looked down. Just as Diggle had informed him, two guards stood below him, dressed in black suits and hands crossed over their chest. They were both big, bigger than him and for a brief second, Oliver wondered whether he would be able to knock them out stealthily. He shook his head at himself; this was no time for self-doubt. He knew he could do this, because he had taken down bigger enemies since his return to Starling City.

He took out two syringe-arrows from his quiver and looked at the purple liquid that was inside of them. The wolfsbane was highly concentrated and would most likely knock out the werewolves that were guarding the door. He took a small breath before standing on the edge of the building, aiming at the two creatures below. As one of the arrows cut through the air and hit it's target in the shoulder, Oliver quickly nocked the other arrow and sent it flying, just as the other bouncer turned to look up at him. The wolfsbane incapacitated the second monster as well and he dropped to the ground. Oliver smirked to himself, jumping down to stand in front of the doors. He prepared for the worst, nocking yet another arrow, before stepping inside.

The music was muffled as he stepped inside the dark hallway. There was no sign of any other guard close by as he made his way through the narrow pathway. By the end of the hall flashing lights could be seen. He walked closer to the source of light and finally, he stood in front of a big window. Down below, the strobe lights were flashing in every color he knew, the bass vibrated against the window and the music was a lot louder than earlier. People were dancing, grinding against each other with the rhythm of the music and anger surged through Oliver as he saw a creature with glowing yellow eyes sinking it's fangs into a girl's neck. He was itching to find a way downstairs, just to put an arrow through the creatures throat, but he had to find the people he had come looking for initially.

He turned on the comm again, "Diggle. I'm inside. Can you find the blueprints and look up the main office? I'm directly above the club, on the second floor."

Static was heard on the other line briefly, before Diggle picked up his own comm. "_I have the blueprints up already because I knew you would get lost in there,_" his friend said, amusement in his tone. "_What do you see?_"

"It's a big window with a view of the dance floor below," Oliver informed.

"_Okay, I see,_" Diggle said, typing something down. "_If you keep walking right ahead, the hallway will split in two. Go right, then keep walking until you reach the end of that hallway, and then go left. The main office should be at the end of that hallway._"

"Right, then left then straight ahead," Oliver repeated. "Copy that."

"_Be careful, Oliver._"

"Aren't I always?" He cut the connection again and followed Diggle's instructions, making sure to walk quickly but quietly. Before rounding the corners, he looked around to make sure there weren't any surprises waiting on him, but he managed to reach his destination without experiencing any problems. That fact made him uneasy, because a club like the Black Rose, should have had more security, especially this close to the main office. Taking this into consideration, Oliver kicked open the big door and held up his bow, aiming it at the head of the person that was sitting behind the desk, caught up in paper work, it seemed.

The person slowly lifted his head, eyes flashing with that familiar supernatural glow before an amused smirk crossed his face.

"Mr. Hood," the man, who looked like he was in his late thirties acknowledged. "I was not expecting a visit from you tonight."

Oliver turned on his voice-distorter and held his aimed bow in place. "Mr. Bertinelli," he bellowed. "If you play nice, I won't be putting this arrow in you tonight."

In Starling City, Frank Bertinelli was known as a reformed crime lord. The man had once used his power to bring the weaker ones on their knees by making them addicted to drugs and supplying them with pills. He had made a fortune on using the poor, but when it came down to pinning him for the crimes he committed, there was no one who dared to go up and testify against him. During Oliver's time on the island, Bertinelli seemed to have left the drug business behind, only to enter a world of even greater darkness. He had been approached by the People of Darkness and after a lot of negotiating on his behalf, he had managed to convince a vampire to turn him. Frank was obsessed with power and wanted to have control over the Dark Ones, but he realized soon that it wasn't in the Nightcrawler's nature to be submissive. Eventually, he had settled for starting club Black Rose, as a sort of safe haven for the Dark Ones, where they could come and enjoy themselves because the police still didn't dare cross him, despite not knowing what kind of monster he had really become.

Mr. Bertinelli's eyes flashed once more. "To what do I have the honor of a visit by the city's very own Hunter?" he mused. "I haven't left this office for a week, so I haven't been out killing humans, if that is why you're here."

"Where can I find Felicity Smoak?" Oliver asked, ignoring the vampire's quip.

"Felicity Smoak?" the vampire frowned. "What makes you think that I know anything about _Ms. Smoak_?"

"You own the Black Rose," Oliver replied. "You hear everything that is said downstairs and you have an eye on almost every supernatural creature in this town. Now, where can I find Ms. Smoak?"

The vampire seemed insistent to pretend that he knew of nothing of what Oliver was talking about. Annoyance filled Oliver and he released the arrow, sending it straight into the computer monitor which sent sparks flying everywhere. Mr. Bertinelli winced, rolling back with his chair, away from the bright light as Oliver nocked another arrow. "I won't ask you again," he growled.

Mr. Bertinelli watched him curiously as a smirk slowly made it's way up his face. "Very well, if you insist." He stood up from his chair, holding both his hands up in surrender. "Normally, I protect the people who come into my club, but I'll make an exception for you, _this _time." He watched the Hunter almost expectantly, but when the man in the green hood didn't make any move to lower his bow, he sighed loudly and continued, "Ms. Smoak used to be a frequent visitor here up until a couple of months ago. I've heard that the young hybrid has gone rogue and left her master, which isn't easily done. Her former pack-members are looking for her and drop by the club from time to time, hoping they'll catch her scent."

"Why are they looking for her?"

"Why are _you_ looking for her?" The vampire's eyes glowed again with amusement. "What has the poor girl to anger the Hunter, besides being a hybrid of course?"

"None of your business," Oliver said. "Now, tell me where I can find her and I'll be on my way."

"I told you already," Frank snapped. "I haven't seen nor heard from Ms. Smoak in over three months. If the girl was lucky, she got away and is on the other side of the Earth by now, if not, her pack has caught up with her and torn her apart."

Oliver was glad that the hood covered up half his face, because he wasn't exactly sure what emotions his eyes were conveying at the moment. His brain played him a short film of savage animals tearing into the blonde that he had seen earlier on the picture in his lair. The fact that it made him uneasy to think of her being torn to shreds wasn't something he wanted to think about at the moment, because quite frankly, it didn't make much sense to him. Never, in the seven years that he had known about the People of Darkness, had he ever felt _pity _for them, and he wasn't about to start now either.

"You told me her pack-members still come in here looking for her," Oliver said, making Frank smirk again.

"Quite perceptive, aren't you, Hunter?" he mocked. "Yes indeed. They have been here and asked around for her."

"Which means that they probably haven't found her yet," Oliver pointed out.

"Yes, yes... Now, do tell how the little blonde caught _your_ attention," Bertinelli mused.

"You are to no help for me, Mr. Bertinelli," Oliver said, aiming the arrow with the wooden head at the vampire's chest. "That means that this doesn't end well for you."

"I beg to differ," Bertinelli replied calmly, a grin slowly spreading across his face. Something was off. Goosebumps formed on Oliver's flesh underneath the leather suit and when the door behind him slammed open, he instantly turned around, shooting an arrow at the werewolf that had entered the room. Of curse, the wood would only inflict pain, not kill it. "You should have disabled the cameras, Mr. Hood," Bertinelli laughed. "Or at least made sure that the cameras wouldn't restart themselves the second they were disabled."

So that was why there hadn't been any guards anywhere. Bertinelli must have called them away, knowing that something was wrong.

Werewolves ran inside the office through the door that had been swung open and Oliver knew that he needed to get out of there. One werewolf lunged itself at him with it's fist, but Oliver blocked it before stabbing it with a wolfsbane-dart in it's neck. He needed to remind himself to thank Diggle for ordering him to have those at him at all times- If he managed to get out of the club alive, that is.

The only good thing about Bertinelli was that he only used werewolves as guards. Oliver supposed it had something to do with them being 'dogs' and that the thought amused the vampire in charge somehow. Also, in the world of the Dark Ones, werewolves were considered to be a little lower on the social ladder. That was until they were turned into hybrids, which were a rare species. Those were at the top of the pyramid and they were the ones that Oliver himself knew the least of. On the Island, he had mostly encountered werewolves and vampires, which were the more common species, but he had taken down a shapeshifter or two as well. The monsters all had their own weaknesses, and Oliver had trained and studies hard so that he would be prepared for any kind of monster that was thrown his way.

He knocked out the other two werewolves that blocked his way and ran out in the hallway, but not before shooting a warning shot at Bertinelli himself. The vampire only laughed, which angered Oliver further. He wanted to put a stake through the monster's heart, but right now, he needed to get out.

"Dig, I'm in trouble," he said as he activated the comm-link.

"_Get the hell out of there, Oliver,_" Diggle's voice sounded.

"I'm _trying_," Oliver hissed, firing two arrows at a lone werewolf that had stepped into his way.

Good thing that it wasn't a full moon, he thought to himself as he managed to run outside in the night. He could hear the wolves running after him though, their footsteps loud and heavy.

Oliver ran as quickly as his feet could carry him, climbing metal fences to make it more difficult for the bulky wolves to follow him. There were at least three of them, following him. He tried to mind his surroundings, but he was concentrating so hard on getting away from them, that he miscalculated and stepped into the wrong alley. He found himself facing a brick wall and he looked up, wondering whether his zip-line-gun would be useful. The conclusion was that it would help anything, because the roof was too high.

Instead, he turned around and faced the- he counted them, mentally sizing them up- _five_ wolves that had stopped a few meters away from him, grinning widely at him.

"Nowhere to run, Hunter," one of them growled at him. His yellowed eyes flashed in the darkness and the other four laughed.

Oliver aimed his bow at them. "Scurry back to your club, or else you'll regret it," he threatened, despite knowing that he was outnumbered.

"What do you say boys? Should we rid the city of it's Savior?" the same wolf asked. The others nodded their heads enthusiastically, making Oliver sick. He wanted to kill them all, but there was absolutely no way that he would be able to fight them all off. He was running out of arrows and there was no way out of the alley besides the one they were blocking.

Then, one of the wolves howled out in pain, falling to ground, eyes wide. The other four looked around, just as a flash of pink flew past them in the alley. Another wolf ended up on his knees, knocked out, which made other three concentrate even more on finding the source of the pink flash. Oliver took his chance and shot an arrow through the heart of one of them and he fell, dead, instantly. The blur returned and this time, Oliver clearly saw a flash of blonde hair as well. Whatever it was, it was supernatural. The speed at which the blur moved was inhuman, but right this moment, Oliver needed to concentrate on taking out the wolves that had been set on killing him, before deciding on how to act with the monster that seemed to be helping him.

He watched as the monster fought the two wolves at the same time. It was a lot faster than them and clearly stronger too. Before he knew it, the last two wolves were laying on the ground, knocked out, but not dead. Oliver didn't even hesitate to put and arrow through each and every one of them, killing them so that they would never hunt humans again. Then, he turned to face the remaining Dark One.

It was a female. She wasn't very tall, but her legs were slim and she had quite a petite form. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a hot pink tank top and a black jacket, paired with black boots. The monster was panting a little, almost as if it was out of breath as he met her eyes.

The azure irises flashed yellow and she grinned, her fangs that had been out just a second before retracting into her gums. It didn't take Oliver long to recognize the signs of a hybrid and it most certainly didn't take long to recognize the face that he had seen earlier tonight in the lair.

"Wow, that was a close one, wasn't it?" said Felicity Smoak.

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><p><em><strong>Note: And in comes Felicity Smoak, all mysteriously wonderful and kickass, saving the Hood from the big bad wolves!<strong>_

_**What did you think of it so far? Tell me if there's anything you didn't get completely and I'll try to explain it to you and also, please do tell me what you think is going to happen next! ;)**_

_**Thank you for reading and remember that comments are always welcome here! =)**_

_**Lots of love xx**_


	3. The Hybrid

_**Note: Hey peeps! I'm back with another chapter of Hunted! =) I've been thinking a lot about this fic lately, especially since I've finished writing Alternate and I have to admit that in the beginning, I was a little uncertain on how the feedback would be. I didn't have a plan at first, but now that I've actually sat down to make one, I've realized that this story will most likely get over 30 chapters, if things go as they are supposed to. I have it planned out now, but since my plans usually change depending on what you guys think, I think it's safe to say that nothing is set in stone yet, but that I'll enjoy the ride! ^^**_

_**Now, thank you to all of you who have shown support by reviewing! It's always wonderful to know that people read the things I write =)**_

_**Now, please enjoy! =)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Hybrid<strong>

Oliver reached back into his quiver and retrieved the last arrow he had left. It was a fairly simple one, with a silver head, that he wasn't even sure would work on a hybrid.

"Felicity Smoak," he said, his voice disoriented by the device he used. "I have been looking for you."

The hybrid looked at him as if she was amused by his actions. "I suggest you save that arrow and take out the ones that you put in those wolves," she told him, pointing at the dead Dark Ones on the ground. "You might need them if we come across more of them and silver isn't very useful on us hybrids."

"In that case, will you please inform me what I have to do to kill you, Ms. Smoak," Oliver retorted, sarcastically polite.

"We should get out of here, Mr. Arrow," Felicity replied, ignoring his quip. "There are more wolves coming and we have to get them off of our scent if we are going to get back to your lair."

"You won't be stepping anywhere near my lair," Oliver snapped.

Felicity tilted her head and watching him with an 'are-you-kidding-me'-expression. His fingers were tingling to release the arrow he still held aimed at her, but something was holding him back. Diggle's words to him before he had stepped out of the Foundry held some truth. He _didn't_ know anything about Felicity Smoak, except for the fact that she was a hybrid from Las Vegas. Someone had gone through _a lot _to get her name to him and to make him hunt her and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't the least bit curious to know why.

He wanted to know, but he also wanted to kill her.

What a dilemma.

"Oh please," Felicity scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you really think you could stop me from following you somehow? You just gave away that you didn't know how to kill a hybrid, and we _really_ need to get out of here," she said, looking around as she inhaled through her nose. "There are at least six more wolves coming our way." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, round object. Throwing it on the ground, smoke exploded around them and Oliver watched her as she held her nose. "It's wolfs-mist," she explained, still pinching her nose. "Water mixed with wolfsbane and then evaporated before being contained in these thin plastic containers that break easily if thrown. They should hide our smell."

"Where did you get them?" Oliver wanted to know.

"I made them," she told him. "Now get moving!" She ran at him with such speed that he didn't even see her coming. The next thing he knew, she had grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled at him to follow her. Her tiny hands clasped his bicep and he decided that he could kill her later, _after_ they get out of the alley.

So, he allowed her to lead the way and he followed her as she zig-zagged her way through the dark streets. He tried desperately to ignore the burning feeling of her hand wrapped around his own, and truthfully, he decided to blame the burn on his body itching to put his arrow into her...

His mind froze over for a second and he almost shook his head at the internal innuendo that he had never meant to think. She was a hybrid, a monster and he _most certainly_ did _not _want to put his arrow _anywhere _near her.

He was treading into dangerous waters with this train of thoughts but luckily, he was brought out of them when she suddenly came to an abrupt stop. He stood behind her, but he could clearly see the three figures that stood in front of them.

"Felicity," a woman said, eyes sparkling blue. "We've been looking for you."

The hybrid squeezed his hand tighter as a response and he realized that he was close enough to feel her tense at the voice.

"Ashley," Felicity replied curtly.

The other woman grinned, showing off glistening fangs.

_Vampire_, Oliver realized.

"The Master has had all of us looking for you," the vampire- Ashley- said. "He wasn't happy when he found out that one of you had escaped."

"I'm sure I'm not the first one," Felicity retorted and Oliver found himself curious to know what they were talking about.

"Newly turned hybrids are supposed to be more loyal to their Sires," Ashley said. "They aren't supposed to run away the second the opportunity presents itself."

Oliver's eyes flickered to the back of Felicity's head, now understanding a little more than before. She had run away from her Sire... From the little things he had learned about hybrids, he knew that was one of the hardest things that particular type of monster could do.

When hybrids were turned, they usually felt a desperate need to serve the monster that had turned them. Oliver figured it had something to do with a blood bond, but he hadn't exactly had a long talk with a monster so he could get the 101 on these things. Usually, he picked up on things when he overheard them talking to each other, like now, or he was taught by more experienced hunters, such as Yao Fei.

"I don't have a _Sire_," Felicity hissed, letting go of his hand. She took a stand, readying herself to attack. Ashley stood calmly while the other two monsters- also vampires it seemed- prepared themselves for a fight.

"The Master is our Sire," Ashley calmly replied. "Or at least he is yours. I'm not a _dog_, so I stay of my own choice."

"Or _fear_," Felicity snarled. "I can smell it all around you, Ashley. You're afraid of what he's capable of and despite that you have never even _met _him, you're scared of what he'll do if you left. You're seeing me as an experiment, because you wonder what he'll do to me when he has me in his clutches again!"

Oliver didn't even have time to blink before the hybrid ran forward, grabbing the vampire by the throat. The only thing he knew was that he had felt the anger radiating off of her before she had pounced and he reacted as quickly as he could, nocking arrows, sending them flying at the other two vampires, killing them instantly.

"Of course you're an experiment, Smoak," the vampire mocked. "Just like every other hybrid turned! Problem is that all the others immediately developed the bond while you rejected it. Why is that?"

"It's _my life_," Felicity growled, holding the vampire up against a brick wall. "It's _my_ _choice_."

"Except that it isn't," Ashley replied. "You fooled us pretty good at first. We didn't actually suspect anything until you ran away. Then it all made sense..."

"It's a good thing you were easy to trick," Felicity said.

"But of course, you didn't take it into calculation that you left some people behind," Ashley grinned.

Oliver watched as Felicity froze. The vampire remained grinning and then used the loss of focus to its advantage. Felicity was on her back on the cold concrete so fast that Oliver didn't have time to move.

"Yeah," Ashley said, almost as if she was confirming the thoughts that Felicity had been having. Vampires weren't mind readers, but Oliver could tell that Ashley's words had struck a cord with Felicity. "We have leverage over you. So if you kindly help me kill the Hunter, we can ignore that he killed Johnson and Adams to protect you."

At the mention of his moniker, Oliver woke from the daze. "I didn't kill them to protect her," he spat. He glanced down at Felicity who had snapped her head to the side to look at him. She was eying him as if she had completely forgotten that he was there.

"Sure looked like you had her back," Ashley acknowledged before turning back to Felicity. "Come on Smoak. You're used to betraying the people who trust you. Let's kill him."

"It was never about trust," Felicity said. "It was all about _obedience_." She glanced at Oliver again and then moved. The vampire was thrown off of her and Oliver released an arrow which embedded itself into her chest, just a little to the side of her heart.

Ashley gasped, falling to her knees, clutching the arrow as Oliver stalked up to her slowly. He knelt down in front of her and grabbed a hold of the arrow with the wooden tip that was only nicking her heart. He lowered himself so that he could whisper into her ear.

"You should have thought twice before getting in my way," he said, twisting the arrow, swiftly piercing the heart of the monster.

He leaned back, watching the vampire turn older in front of him before her skin shriveled up and turned gray.

"Lamia," Felicity spoke up behind him. "Ashley was a lamia vampire."

Oliver pulled the arrow out and cleaned it against Ashley's shirt before putting it back in his quiver. He turned to face the hybrid again and met her eyes.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked her, honestly not sure himself to what the answer to that question was. He knew what it _should_ be, but that didn't change the fact that he just couldn't seem to stop his curiosity of getting the better of him. Some of the things that the vampire who was now laying dead at his feet had said tonight, intrigued him. If Felicity truly had broken free from her Sire-bond, he wanted to know how it was possible for her to do so. The ferocity in her tone when she had told Ashley that it was "her life, her choice" had roused some strange feeling in his chest that he didn't know what to call.

"What _are_ you going to do with me?" Felicity repeated back, a playful smile on her lips. "I am well aware of what you _want _to do with me... Or rather _to_ me, since I don't think that you want to be doing anything_ with _me," she rambled, but her straight posture remained. Momentarily, his mind once again drifted to the thoughts he had had a little earlier, about putting an arrow into her...

Hybrids weren't mind readers though, were they? Oliver still felt as if Felicity could see right through him for some reason.

She held up one of her hands, still looking playful, "I vote for you taking me back to that secret lair of yours so that we can talk in private."

"You don't get a vote," Oliver told her, but his bow remained lowered. If she had wanted to hurt him, she would have by now. Maybe it was better to earn her trust and then stab her in the back?

"Oh, I think I should," Felicity said. "I saved your life when I didn't have to, after all."

"I saved yours too," Oliver countered. His own statement annoyed the hell out of him.

"_No_," Felicity drawled. "You merely calculated the risks and decided that it was better to be on my side, at least temporarily. I bet you're already thinking about how you're going to get close enough to stab me in the back."

_Damn her._

She must have seen something in his face that gave away the fact that she was right, because a wide grin spread across her face. "Come on, Oliver. What do you take me for?"

It took him a moment to realize what she had said. When it did, his hand flew to his bow immediately, but she was in front of him less than a millisecond before he could even reach for an arrow. Her hands wrapped around his wrists, one on the one that had been raised to retrieve the arrow and the other on his bow that was half raised. Her tight grip and sudden close proximity held him in place. He could feel her breath against his face as he glared down at her, his gaze drilling straight into hers.

The intensity of her baby-blue irises struck him but he held his ground. "I don't know what you're talking about," he began, his voice-modulator still working. What had he done to reveal his identity? How did she know?

"Let's be honest with each other, Mr. Queen," she continued, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. He did _not_ know this purely because he had been staring down at her lips, although, he was thankful for the hood covering the upper half of his face.

He contemplated his options, but knew that he didn't have much of a choice. He slowly relaxed and she smiled at him, removing her hands from him just as slow.

"Now that we've established that I already know who you are," she waved around a bit, "can you please turn off that voice-distorter? It's freaking me out."

Wordlessly, he pressed the button on his belt, but remained glaring at her. "How did you know?" he asked her, not taking a step back just yet. He figured that it was still worth a shot to try and intimidate her, even though she had made it clear that she wasn't scared of him.

"I'm not your typical kind of girl, Mr. Queen," she said.

"No, you're not," Oliver agreed. "You're a _monster._"

"Ouch," she said, putting her hand over her heart. "You wound me," she sarcastically remarked, but Oliver didn't fail to notice that hurt actually _did_ flash through her eyes. Perhaps she wasn't as good as she thought when it came to playing indifferent.

She shot him another look. "Will you be taking me to the lair then, or do you want me to just go ahead and find it myself? Because I can promise you that it won't be as difficult as you seem to think it will be."

"You're _not_ coming with me," Oliver ground out through gritted teeth. Then, there was static in his ear and Oliver knew that Diggle had been listening in on the conversation over the comms. The fact that his friend only let the silence hang, he knew what he was saying. "No!" Oliver protested.

Diggle didn't reply, but Oliver just _knew_ what he was thinking. "No! She's not coming with me to the lair!"

"_Oliver_," Diggle finally sighed. "_She already knows your identity,_" he pointed out. "_What difference does it make now?_"

Oliver took a few steps back from Felicity and turned his back to her, whispering furiously at the older man in his ear. "It makes a difference because I don't trust her! She's one of them and she might be trying to trick us so that she can infiltrate the Foundry!"

"_She saved your life, Oliver_," Diggle said. "_From what I've heard so far, it sounds like she has earned some of our trust... If she turns on us, there will be two of us and one of her. We'll be able to take her down_."

Oliver was about to protest again when the clearing of a throat behind him stopped him. He turned to face the blonde again.

"You do know that I can hear you guys, right?" Felicity asked, shifting on her feet, looking uncomfortable for the first time in a while. "Super-hearing?" she reminded them and Oliver mentally slapped himself for being so distracted and stupid. "Yeah, that's totally a thing," she nodded as she saw the realization on his face. "I appreciate the fact that you've decided to give me a chance, Mr. Diggle, no matter how small it is."

"Dig," Oliver groaned. "We've been compromised-"

"Oh _please_," Felicity scoffed. "I knew about Mr. Diggle before you decided to speak to him over that nifty little communication device."

Oliver shot her a suspicious glare. "Really?" he questioned skeptically. Of course, since he knew that she had known about his own identity, it made sense that she had somehow known about Diggle too. The hybrid seemed to know way too much about their secret operation.

"Of course I did," Felicity rolled her eyes. "How else do you think I knew who to send that message to?"

Once again, silence fell between them.

It made a lot more sense now; the way she had magically appeared when all hope seemed lost, how she had known where to find him... She had been following him because she had been keeping an eye on _him_ while he was looking for _her_, because she knew that he would be looking for her. _She _had been the one to send him the message. _She _had been the one who wanted him to find her.

But _why_?

Why risk her own life, knowing that he was a hunter, only so that she could meet him?

"_Oliver_," Diggle spoke up in his ear. "_Bring her to the Foundry_."

There wasn't a question that Diggle was right. This new revelation that Felicity had wanted him to find her raised a lot of questions that he needed the answer to before he could decide what to do next.

Without another word, he raised his hand and pulled back his hood. He allowed her to see his face for the first time as a sign of his resignation.

The smile that spread across her face, told him that she knew that he had given in.

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><p><em><strong>Note: Ooooooooh! Some of you might have called it, but YES, Felicity is the one who sent the mysterious messages! Why would she do that? Why would she want the Hunter after herself? What do you guys think? ;)<strong>_

_**Oh, also, I've forgotten to mention that the first four chapters of this story all take place in the span of 24 hours. Then, we'll be making jumps ahead in time as relationships develop and the plot goes forward! ^^**_

_**And I've been debating on which day to post this story, and right now, I'm thinking Fridays would be good... (I know it's Thursday, guys.) What do you think? From now on, I'll either post new chapters on Fridays OR, if you want, I can post them on Wednesdays, like I did with Crumbled Papers (if you read that one)? Tell me what you'd like!**_

_**Thank you so much for reading and please don't forget that feedback is always welcome! =)**_

_**xx**_


	4. The Foundry

**_Note: Hey guys! I'm back again with another chapter of Hunted! =) Now that I'm all done with Alternate, I'll be able to focus on this story! ^^ Of course though, school is still a priority so from time to time, I won't have time to write... Like now, I have a HUGE exam next week on Wednesday, so after I post this, I'll have to start studying!_**

**_I made a decision when it comes to posting! Since most of you wanted me to post on Wednesdays, I've decided to post Fridays for two more weeks and then when Arrow starts, I'll start posting on Wednesdays, as requested! =)_**

**_Now, please enjoy this chapter! Remember, this still takes place during the same night as the previous three! After this chapter, we'll start jumping in time! ;)_**

**_Oh, btw, to the guest reviewer CASSIE: Thank you so much for reviewing sweetheart! I truly love writing sassy Felicity and Oliver going crazy is just so funny! Can you imagine his frustration (which will be even more evident in this chapter!)! The poor guy is just so confused on how to act because while wanting to kill her, he's also curious..._**

**_Either way, enjoy! :D _**

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

**Chapter 4: The Foundry**

Oliver was determinedly walking in front of Felicity as he led her back toward the lair. After she had revealed that she had been the one to send him all those messages earlier that day, Oliver had known that there wasn't a choice to make anymore. Diggle had confirmed it by basically ordering Oliver to bring her to the Foundry. Of course, Oliver had never really enjoyed being ordered around, but he knew that there wasn't a question about bringing her back with him.

What annoyed him the most however, was that smile that adorned her face.

Ever since he had growled out a, "Follow me," she hadn't let the smile drop from her face. The worst thing about it though, was that it wasn't a mocking smile, but a genuine one. She was genuinely happy that he had decided to bring her back with him.

They didn't speak to each other as they walked through the streets. At least not until they reached his motorcycle that he had parked at a safe distance from the Black Rose.

"Get on," he told her and she didn't protest at first, despite the small flash of worry that appeared on her face.

"Actually, I think I'd rather follow you on foot," she retorted, biting her lip.

"Try keeping up," he said, not wanting her anywhere near him anyway. Things were confusing as they were and the last thing he needed was to be forced into close proximity of her.

"Don't worry about me, Oliver," she grinned, taking a step back as her eyes flashed yellow.

He wanted to make a comeback at her with some witty comment on how he would never in his life worry about her, but decided not to speak at all. Instead, he hit the gas pedal and sped out on the streets. They needed to get back to the Foundry before the sun went up. He couldn't be seen in his hood during the day and he still didn't know what effects the sun had on hybrids.

Turning his head back, he tried to see where the hybrid had gone, but there was no sign of her anywhere. He knew he was being followed though, so he didn't slow down. There was just something inside of him that told him that she had her eyes on him and that she would find her way to Verdant even if he tried to shake her off.

When he finally arrived in the back alley of Verdant and hid his bike, there was a small tap on his shoulder. He instantly turned around, pinning her to the opposite wall, arrow head at her throat.

"Hello to you too," Felicity grinned down at him. "Would you mind letting go? I think there's a brick cutting into my shoulder."

He removed his hand from her throat and she dropped to the ground, letting out a gasp. Narrowing his eyes at her, he growled, "Don't sneak up on me."

"Duly noted," she told him before following him as he led her to the hidden door that led to the Foundry.

He punched in the code, not even bothering to hide it from her because he knew that she most likely already knew what it was anyway. Stepping inside, he hurried down the stairs, only to be met by Diggle who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, expecting them.

"Mr. Diggle," the hybrid spoke as she basically skipped down the stairs. The smile was still on her face and Oliver couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I'm Felicity."

She held out her hand in front of the older man, but Diggle remained unmoving. Oliver smirked before lowering his hood. Diggle was the most trusting one of the two of them, so the fact that he was clearly rejecting Felicity's efforts of politeness, was amusing, to say the least.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Felicity then said, her smile dropping and her voice turning serious. "I'm not going to hurt either of you." Her eyes traveled over to Oliver, who turned to look at Diggle, who was in turn contemplating Felicity.

"To be honest," Diggle said, finally accepting her hand and giving it a light shake, "I am quite curious about you Ms. Smoak."

Felicity smiled again, clearly thinking that she had won Diggle over, but Oliver knew that his partner was probably just testing her. At least he hoped that was what he was doing.

Diggle and Oliver had been through so much during the two years that he had been back in Starling City. When he had convinced Diggle to join him, it had taken them some time to figure out how they would work their operation. Diggle had his own motives for joining the crusade; his brother had been murdered by a sniper in the army and after a lot of research, Oliver had revealed to him that the sniper- Floyd Lawton- was a _vampire_ mercenary. While taking down the names on his father's list, they had a secondary mission to find Lawton and avenge Andy Diggle's death, but things had been very slow in that particular department, since it seemed that Lawton had dropped from the face of the Earth.

"Ask me anything," Felicity said. "I'll tell you everything you want to know. Okay, well, maybe not _everything_, but-"

"Is that your way of getting us to trust you?" Oliver asked, crossing over to stand next to Diggle as he interrupted her. "So that you can then betray us like the monster you are?"

"I have no intention of betraying you," Felicity frowned. "Do you really think that I would have contacted '_The Hood'_ if I wanted to stab you in the back? I think there's a bigger chance that you'll betray _me-_"

"Why did you contact us?" Diggle interrupted, sensing that there was a risk that the argument would get heated fast if he didn't stop it.

Felicity licked her lips and turned to face him, but not before shooting another glare at Oliver. "As you both have probably understood by now, I escaped from the man who made me a hybrid. I contacted you because I used to hear the others talking about you and I hoped that you would be able to help," she explained, looking back at Oliver.

"Help with what?" he asked and she once again did that infuriating thing where she bit her lip.

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted and Oliver shook his head, knowing that this would all eventually just lead up to either her hurting him on him hurting her. "I got out before I learned all the details and they didn't trust me, so the only information I have is the one I overheard them talking about or the small amount that I was actually given in order to cooperate."

Oliver decided that it was better just to ignore her and turned to look at Diggle, "This is useless."

"Maybe we should hear her out first?" Diggle suggested, knowing that Oliver was already wishing that he had stabbed her with an arrow when he had had the chance.

"Do you even hear yourself, Dig?" Oliver snapped. "When have we _ever_ tried to hear out one of the Dark Ones?"

"Can you stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" Felicity wondered, but the two men promptly ignored her. Instead, she turned her attention to the Foundry and started looking around at everything from the various kinds of arrows, to the computers across the room.

"You told me to bring her back here, to the lair," Oliver yelled at Diggle. "I could have just as easily taken care of her in that alley!"

"And how would you have done that, Oliver? Hybrids are the only species that you don't have all the information you need to kill them. You wouldn't have stood a chance," Diggle said, clearly annoyed. "Besides, she was the one who contacted _us_. Don't you think she already knew where the lair was if she managed to hack our mainframe?"

"I second that," Felicity interjected, holding up her hand.

"No one asked for your opinion," Oliver told her before turning back to Diggle. "Even if she did know the location, she never would have made it here. I would have killed her before she tried to reach us!"

"So why didn't you?" Diggle snapped loudly, taking a step toward Oliver, getting into his face.

_Why hadn't he?_

That was a question he too would love to know the answer to.

Oliver inhaled, preparing himself to once again fight back, but out of the corner of his eye he caught Felicity taking one of his arrows into her hands, so instead he turned to her, furiously yelling, "Stop touching my things!"

She dropped the arrow, twisting around to face him with a glare, "Stop acting like a baby!" Her yell echoed through the Foundry and for a minute no one spoke. Oliver continued to alternate his glare at Felicity and Diggle, but they both kept their eyes trained on him.

Clearly, this had become a two-against-one situation.

It was better to give up the fight this time, since they were clearly ganging up on him. "How did you do it?" Oliver finally sighed, turning to look at Felicity. "How did you hack out mainframe and find out my identity?"

"Well," Felicity said, stepping away from the arrow table, "I am a computer genius that graduated from MIT in '09, so the hacking part wasn't really that difficult. It did take me two months to actually decide to try ask you to help, but once I hacked the network the first time, I realized quickly who you were."

Oliver watched her, not breathing a word while she explained herself and Diggle didn't seem so keen on interrupting her either.

"Anyway, you guys really should have bought a computer without a pre-installed camera in it, because that was what gave away your identity," she told him.

"So you watched us? For how long?" Oliver asked, trying to keep calm even though the thought of having someone watch him made him uneasy.

"A month," Felicity admitted sheepishly. "As I said, I was arguing back and forth with myself for two months before I finally decided to try and reach out to you."

"But you didn't contact us until earlier today," Diggle said.

"Actually, that was yesterday, because it's past midnight," Felicity corrected. Upon the annoyed look Oliver sent her, she swallowed. "Although that isn't important, is it? Yeah, I thought so..."

"Why didn't you just reveal your identity?" Oliver questioned. "You could have hidden the fact that you are a hybrid and tried to contact us in person."

"I needed to know whether I could trust you or not," Felicity said. "Also, I needed to see how far you would actually go to find me. It didn't take you very long- which is kind of impressive actually- so I guess I decided it was worth giving you a chance. That's why I saved you from those wolves."

"You didn't save me," Oliver said, but Felicity merely grinned at him.

"Are you sure about that?"

He decided that it was better not to speak, because he could feel that he was slowly digging his own grave. Whatever this girl, this _hybrid_, was saying, she would twist his own words around and make him seem soft in her presence. He didn't need for other monsters to know that he had allowed her to live and see the lair and he wasn't really sure what he _should_ be doing next.

"What information did you want to share with us?" Diggle asked, taking a step toward Felicity.

"I know that you don't trust me yet, Mr. Diggle," Felicity said. "I'm not stupid, as we've all established by now. So why should I give away the only thing that I can use as leverage to stay alive?"

"As _we've_ already established," Oliver bit out, "neither Diggle nor I know how to kill a hybrid, so you're pretty safe anyway."

"You were willing to make a safe bet that decapitation works," Felicity pointed out. "Besides, the information I have about the Dark Ones isn't really current, is it? I mean, the time table for their plans hasn't really gotten into action yet, so I have at least a little while before I _absolutely_ have to tell you."

"If we know what their plans are, we'll be able to stop them before they get a chance to go into action," Diggle told her, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," she said, "but I'm afraid I just simply don't trust you yet either. I can't go around worrying whether you'll just kill me after I reveal everything and to be honest?" She paused, looking over at Oliver. "I _want_ you to trust me. I want to prove to you that not every monster is bad."

Oliver eyed her and shook his head. "Good luck with that," he told her, a sarcastic smirk adorning his face.

"What did you have in mind?" Diggle asked, ignoring Oliver's lack of enthusiasm for what Felicity had just told them.

"I want to become a part of your team," Felicity confidently said. "I want to help you take down the big bads in the city."

Oliver let out a snort, "There is no chance in _hell_ that I'll be-"

"Okay," Diggle interrupted, before he had a chance to finish his sentence.

"What?" Oliver snapped. "Dig, you can't be serious about considering this!"

"What other choice do we have, Oliver?" Diggle wondered. "The girl has had multiple chances to kill you these last few hours and she didn't. She could have outed your identity to every Nightcrawler she knew, but since no one has attacked Oliver Queen yet, I don't think she has and she clearly isn't planning to either."

"We can't trust her," Oliver repeated, his voice low.

"And she still has hybrid-hearing," Felicity pointed out. "And she really, really wants to prove herself."

Oliver shot the blonde another glare before turning to his partner. Yes, Oliver had been the first that had set out on this crusade alone, but since Diggle had joined him, he had always valued his opinion, despite sometimes making the final call on things. Since joining him, Diggle had been the more open-minded one out of the two of them, so he understood why Diggle was willing to give the hybrid a chance.

"She saved your life," Diggle reminded him quietly, despite knowing that Felicity could hear him. "Maybe she does deserve a chance to prove herself?"

Oliver contemplated it for a long minute. What did he have to lose?

_Everything_, a small voice in the back of his head told him. He had absolutely everything to lose, if he allowed himself to get close to the blonde hybrid. However, if she truly did know things about the Dark Ones that he didn't, he knew that his best chance was to give her a shot to try and, as she had put it so nicely, prove herself.

"Okay," he finally caved, turning back to look at Felicity. "You'll be staying here in the Foundry until further notice. You are allowed to assist us when you are _asked_ for assistance and you are not allowed to contact anyone outside of the lair," he listed. "Are we understood?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I'll abide to all of your rules, except that first one."

Oliver rolled his eyes, "You can't walk around town if your pack is still looking for you."

"He's right," Diggle said. "You might accidentally lead them back to the lair."

"I can come up with a disguise," she countered. "I can stay by your side the entire time and you won't even notice me. I just..." she trailed off and closed her eyes, pinching the brig of her nose. "I've been hiding for three months now and no one has seen me," she sighed. "The other... _Nightcrawlers_, don't particularly like going out in the middle of the day and us hybrids, well, the sunlight doesn't bother us at all. So please, can I just go out around lunch from time to time? I promise that I'll be careful and won't lead anyone back to your secret lair."

Oliver turned to Diggle again and his friend merely shrugged.

"We can discuss it in a week's time," Oliver finally decided. "If you live that long."

Felicity's smile dropped, but she relented by offering him a small nod.

"And in the meantime, you'll have to prove to us that we can trust you," Diggle reminded her.

Once again, she nodded, her head still bowed. "As long as you don't forget that you too have to prove that _I _can trust you," she said quietly. "Otherwise the hell I've been put through will have been for nothing."

With those words, she turned around and walked toward the couch, where she promptly laid down and turned her back toward them. Oliver observed her petite form for a moment before leaving to change out of his suit. He was still itching to put her out of her misery, but at the same time, a small part of him wondered, what kind of 'hell' the blonde hybrid had been put through, before contacting them.

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><p><em><strong>Note: Of course little Ms. Smoak isn't going to just reveal her agendas for looking the Hunter up! ;) She has to have some kind of leverage, right? And before any of you ask, it will take a little while until she tells her story... Like, in ten chapters or so... Be patient! =)<strong>_

_**Now, I'm off to study! Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to review! I'll see you next Friday peeps! :D**_

_**Lots of love xx**_


	5. The Compromise

_**Note: Hey guys! **__**Okay, so I wanna start of by saying thank you to everyone for reviewing and reading this story :) To those of you who reviewed on the last chapter, I'm sorry for not being able to get back to you... I've had a lot of studying going on and today my grandma came home after visiting Bosnia for five months, so I visited her and stayed there the entire day! ^^**_

_**So, in this chapter, we're jumping ahead a little in time. A week has passed since last chapter and I really hope you like it! Please don't forget to comment! :)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Compromise<strong>

A week after agreeing to let the hybrid work with them- _temporarily_, he kept telling himself- Oliver found himself wondering why he had ever agreed to such a stupid idea.

Of course, it turned out that Felicity was still a tech-genius and she proved to be quite useful in some of their cases. However, Oliver still hated the fact that she was a part of the world that he had been trying to destroy for over seven years now.

She hadn't done anything to show that she couldn't be trusted, which only served to annoy him further. So, when he found himself in his car with Diggle, and Diggle brought up the subject of letting Felicity out of the Foundry during the day, Oliver knew that no matter what argument he tried, nothing would work.

"She hasn't done anything to compromise us, Oliver," Diggle pointed out as he drove them toward the Foundry. "Last night, she saved my life."

Oliver hated to admit it, but it was true. They had been working a difficult mission and Felicity had been observing them through the security cameras. Diggle had been on his way up to the roof, but had been to busy shooting at some thugs that he hadn't bothered to check if someone else was coming down the stairs. When Felicity had shouted through the comm-link for Diggle to watch his back, he had turned around just in time to dodge a bullet that would have surely embedded itself in his chest. Later, when they had returned to the lair, Diggle had walked up to the hybrid and thanked her, making her smile in the process. Oliver had met Diggle's eyes after that, and he had seen the newfound trust that his friend held for the monster. He had been foolishly hoping that Felicity's partial release from the Foundry wouldn't come up so soon after that.

"I know, Dig," Oliver bit out, glaring at the road ahead of them. "I'm just not sure if it's a good idea to let her off her leash yet. I still don't trust her, even if you clearly do."

Diggle shook his head at him, "She's saved both you and me, Oliver. She's had several chances to ambush us and kill us, but she hasn't. Doesn't that count for something?"

"She's a Dark One, Dig," Oliver reminded him. "They can't be trusted. She might just be-"

"Don't start with the whole backstabbing argument again," Diggle groaned. "That one is getting pretty old now."

Oliver had been about to retort that his argument still mattered, but was interrupted when Diggle chuckled. "What now?" he sighed.

"I was just thinking," Diggle said. "The thing you said about still keeping a leash on Felicity? Are you sure you don't just want to keep the girl chained up in the lair so that you can keep her under control? I mean, it's pretty clear that you get a little flustered each time she slips an innuendo into a conversation."

Oliver felt how his face heated up a little as he remembered the time he had almost choked on his water bottle when Felicity had made an accidental remark about his package (she had originally been referring to his six-pack, making her case on how it was possible for a human to actually challenge a Nightcrawler in strength).

"I do _not_ get flustered," Oliver growled. "And she's still a hybrid, Dig. She can't be trusted and I will _never_ trust her."

Diggle sighed, "I trust her, Oliver."

"And that will have to be enough," Oliver retorted. "I can't just give up everything I learned on Lian Yu. I can't just start believing that one of them might be different. That would go against everything."

"I may not have been in on this whole secret society of Dark Ones as long as you, Oliver," Diggle said, "but I don't believe that things are as black and white as you're trying to make them up to be."

"Have you forgotten that she has an ulterior motive?" Oliver countered, glaring at his friend. "Have you forgotten that the only reason that she hasn't killed us yet is because she wants our help with something? _Something _that she _refuses_ to even tell us!"

"Aren't we using her and her skills in return?" Diggle argued. "She's already shown us how to make that mist that she used the night you brought her back to the lair and she's taught me a lot about some monsters that I didn't even know existed yet!"

"All to gain our trust," Oliver muttered, but he knew that what Diggle was saying was true. Felicity _had_ shown them how to make the wolf mist that she had used that night, along with a few other non-lethal ways to incapacitate a Dark One. She had argued that he would sometime need to interrogate them and in order for him to keep them under his control, she had shown him some pressure points that would render the monsters immobile for at least a few minutes. Naturally, he had argued that she was only showing him those things because she didn't want him to kill her fellows, but deep inside- and he would never admit this out loud- he was thankful for the knowledge.

"Whatever man," Diggle sighed. "There's no point in trying to get through to you. My opinion is still that you should allow Felicity to step out during the day, even if it is only for an hour or two."

Oliver pursed his lips, deciding that it would be better not to say anything, in order to prevent another argument.

They reached Verdant a couple of minutes later and Diggle grabbed his shoulder to keep him from walking inside just yet.

"I won't get involved in the conversation," he told him. "This is your decision to make, and now you know my opinion on the matter, so I won't get involved, unless things turn violent."

"Okay," was the only word that Oliver managed to get out as he walked toward the back entrance of the club, heading straight for the basement.

He found Felicity sitting by the computers, her feet tucked up under her with a blanket wrapped around her as she watched a horror movie. The sight made him tilt his head in confusion as the hybrid squealed, jumping in her chair and covering her face with her hands. How was it possible for a monster like her to get scared by a simple horror flick?

"Felicity," Diggle said, startling the hybrid, who quickly turned the movie off and swirled around in her chair to face them with a smile.

Oliver's jaw was ticking and he balled his hands into fists, resisting the urge to yell at her for using the computers they had for work as a device of amusement. He knew however, that that argument would fall through, because after all, he was responsible for locking her up in the basement and telling her to keep herself busy with something while he kept on living like nothing was wrong in the world.

Fifteen minutes later, he and Felicity had fallen into a full blown argument, yelling at the top of their lungs at each other.

"You're dangerous!" Oliver argued. "You're a danger to humans which means that I can't just let you prance around however you want!"

"There are other hybrids out there already, Oliver!" Felicity yelled back at him. "If anything, _they_ are dangerous! I would never hurt a human on purpose!"

"Yeah, sure," Oliver suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at her, "but what if you lose control? Then what? Are you honestly going to try telling me that you can keep the blood lust under control? The only reason that you haven't gone on a feverish killing spree yet is because we've been supplying you with blood bags!"

"I don't need the blood as much as you think, Oliver!" Felicity countered. "I can eat regular human food and be fine with it. That's the beauty of being _half-_vampire!"

"Still, you're a danger and-"

"Enough!" Felicity exclaimed as a snarl came out of her mouth, clearly fed up with him calling her dangerous. She was in his space less than a millisecond later, fangs bared and eyes glistening yellow. "Is _this_ all you see in me?" she asked him, her eyes flashing as her white gleaming teeth remained elongated.

Oliver stood his ground, but inside, there was a conflict burning. The hurt that Felicity's voice betrayed, took him aback. He had never intended for his words to actually hurt her, because he had figured that a monster like her held no deep emotions. Besides, the words he had spoken were true, because she truly was dangerous. Now, he wondered, whether the danger he saw in her actually had something to do with the people he was trying to protect, or if it was his own values and thoughts that were being challenged by her that made him so afraid of her. What if he let her out and she proved to him that she indeed wouldn't pounce on every human that was close to him? What if she proved that she truly could be trusted? That though scared him more than anything.

"Okay, I think it's time the two of you calmed down," Diggle said, breaking through his thoughts. Oliver moved his head in his direction, seeing that his friend had pulled out his gun and was already pointing it at Felicity. He looked back at the hybrid, who still had her fangs bared at him, blackened veins surrounding the previously blue eyes that still held that golden hue that he hated so much.

She closed her mouth and took a step back from him, her eyes falling shut. When she opened them again, the veins were gone and the azure color had returned to her irises. She raised her hands, looking over at Diggle and took yet another step back from Oliver.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, turning her eyes back at Oliver. "I have done _everything_ you have asked for," she told him. "Everything, and the only thing I've asked for in return, is a little of that freedom that I stopped having the moment I was turned into a hybrid."

Her pained tone made something inside of him stir and for a brief moment, his mind was transported back to his years in the supernatural purgatory.

The things he had had to do in order to survive, the orders he had had to follow from day one... Not once in those five years that he had been there had he truly felt free. His vow to take back his city from the monsters and to protect those who needed his protection had in a way made him a prisoner in his own body. Everything he did, he did for others. Even though he never expected anything in return, he understood what Felicity was saying, in a way. He too had had days when he longed for freedom, wanting to do something for himself once in a while.

He had learned long ago that hybrids that were turned formed a special bond with their Sire, the person who had turned them. The mixed monster usually ended up losing their freedom, entirely succumbing to its master's wishes. The fact that Felicity had managed to get away from her master, surely said something about her, even if he wasn't entirely sure what that something was just yet.

The wave of sympathy that flooded him as he watched Felicity in front of him surprised him. He hated her for being a monster, but all of the sudden, he was feeling sympathetic too? Was it because he had vowed to give back freedom to the humans, but had deprived her of hers, or was it because of something else? Did it really matter though?

The tears that were visible in Felicity's eyes once again made his heart clench and he absolutely _loathed_ himself for feeling the need to take them away.

"Okay," he finally said, hardly recognizing his own voice as he spoke.

"Okay, what?" Felicity asked, looking confused.

He sighed, pinching the brig of his nose as he looked over at Diggle, who only nodded at him as he lowered his gun down. "You're allowed to go outside during the day," he explained.

"Really?" The happiness in Felicity's voice actually made him sick, but at the same time, there was some underlying feeling in his gut that he didn't want to name.

"You'll be allowed to go out, as long as you stay by my side so that I can personally keep an eye on you," he told her. His statement made her frown and tilt her head at him in a silent question. In turn, he sighed, "What now?"

"How am I supposed to be by your side all the time if you work at Queen Consolidated during the day?" she wondered, one of her eyebrows still quirked up in question.

Oliver knew that he would later curse himself for the word that came out of his mouth next.

"You can come along to Queen Consolidated and act as my assistant," he told her. "It will give you the chance to get out of the lair, but also help me keep an eye on you."

"Really?" Felicity said, this time sounding a lot more skeptical than before.

"Yes," he nodded. "That way, I'll make sure that you don't put other people around you in any danger and both Dig and I will be close to you at all times."

She hummed as she thought through his compromise and then finally nodded, "Okay, but if you think that I'll be getting you coffee whenever you want, you are gravely mistaken."

Oliver did indeed curse himself for the compromise he had made up with the hybrid.

Not more than three days later actually.

It had taken Felicity a little while to set up a fake profile for herself online, just in case someone at Queen Consolidated decided to question her when she got there. The main argument between her and Oliver during those three days had been whether she should keep her real name, or not. Oliver had argued that in order for her to keep herself hidden from her old pack, it would be better to change her identity completely, but Felicity had argued that she would feel uncomfortable with lying as it was and that she would probably mess up on her first day by mixing the names up. In the end, Diggle had (_once again_) been on Felicity's side and they had decided to go with her real name, much to Oliver's dismay.

She had spun a story about working at a few smaller companies in Massachusetts as a consult after graduating from MIT so that she would have at least some working experience if anyone asked her. Oliver had already talked it over with Walter, telling him how it was difficult for him to keep track of all the various meetings as he shadowed him in the company. Walter had agreed to let him hire someone to help him keep notes and when Oliver had told Walter that he had actually already found someone, Walter had been surprised to say the least.

When Oliver had told them about Felicity, Moira had been afraid that he had only hired the girl for his own _entertainment_, but Walter had been on his side, telling Moira that Oliver wasn't like that anymore. He had presented them with Felicity's resume, Moira had been shocked by her qualifications. Also, it helped a little that he had managed to miss four important meetings that week, which made the story of him falling behind on company work more believable.

And now, he was cursing himself.

He was down in the Foundry, wearing his business suit as he waited for Felicity to get dressed. She had been out the previous day, with Diggle, and bought some clothes that she could wear at work. Impatiently, he tapped his foot against the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. "How long does it take to change?" he muttered. "Isn't she supposed to be able to move in super-speed or whatever?"

"She's still a girl, Oliver," Diggle chuckled. "She'll be out before you know it." Diggle too was dressed to go to work as Oliver's driver-slash-bodyguard.

Just as he had spoken, the bathroom door opened and Felicity stepped out. Now _that_ was the moment he started cursing himself.

The hybrid in front of him was wearing a tight, black pencil skirt, a pink blouse that was tucked into said tight skirt and a pair of black high heels. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her makeup was light, except for the bright fuchsia colored lipstick she had coated her lips with. The thing that actually made him swallow though, was that she was wearing a pair of thick-framed glasses, giving her the perfect secretary look.

"How do I look?" she asked, twirling on the spot, making something inside of Oliver's stomach turn.

If she hadn't been a hybrid, Oliver would have allowed himself to tell her that she actually looked quite beautiful. But she wasn't human, and how could someone who wasn't human be beautiful?

"Glasses?" he asked, his voice surprisingly hoarse. He cleared it and stood up straighter, trying to cover up the small sign of weakness that he might have just shown. He looked over at Diggle, who was smirking back at him, clearly amused by his uneasiness.

"I figured they could help a little with my secret identity," Felicity explained, looking at him with a smile on her face. "Not that I actually need them, since my eyesight is perfect. So the glasses don't actually have an adjustment to make me see better... Although, I do think they suit me, don't you?" She moved the glasses a little further down on her nose and looked over at Oliver from over her frames.

Once again, he cursed himself and swallowed thickly, hating the effect the hybrid in front of him suddenly seemed to have on him.

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><p><strong>Note: Ooooh, so now Felicity will be working side by side with Oliver as his assistant! ;) Fun times at the office up ahead! ^^ Not to mention the sexual tension... ;) *wink wink*<strong>

**Oh, and please don't forget to comment! You're reviews keep me going! :D**

**Thank you for reading! xx**

**P.S. What did you think of Felicity losing her temper with Oliver? Some fangs and heated words are always welcome right? ;)**


	6. The Office

**Note: Phew! Just finished the chapter in time for my deadline! ^^ I got a little carried away with this one and decided to give you guys an inside look of Felicity's mindset too! Also, there will be an explanation about Laurel and Tommy in this chapter too (but they won't be there in person just yet!). So yeah, Tommy is alive because it's an AU and I love Tommy!**

**Oh, and Happy Official Arrow Wednesday people! Arrow will be back tonight! :D Yay! (I will never mention spoilers and such here because I know some people aren't able to watch it until the day after or so... Like me...)**

**This chapter is twice as long as the last one and I can't really say if I'll be able to write them this long every time, but I can always try! Quality over quantity people! I hope this measures up! ;)**

**And one last thing: The beginning of this chapter is rated a tiny bit higher, I guess, just to be safe... I've been playing with the idea of raising the rating to Mature, but I don't want to lose readers if I do... Tell me whether you'd want a higher rating or not so I know how the majority feels about it! :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Office<strong>

"_Mr. Queen," she whispers, her voice sultry as she looks over at him from across the table. He raises his head, meeting her cold gaze as the files in his hands fall to the floor. She is wearing that damn pencil skirt again, but this time, her blouse is white and the outlines of her hot pink bra can be seen through the slightly sheer material._

_He swallows thickly as his eyes travel down on their own accord as she slips off her black high heels and places them on the table._

_Where had the board members gone? They had been there just a second ago and now, he was all alone; with _her_._

_She raises her hand, pulling out the elastic band that held her golden hair in its confines, running a hand through the tresses as she lets them fall over her shoulders. Her glasses slip down a little on her nose as she leans over the table, "The meeting is over. You should have been paying more attention, Mr. Queen."_

_His throat feels a lot thicker as he watches her unbutton the top button of her shirt. "I was paying attention," he tells her, but he knows that it's a lie. Ever since she walked into the room, wearing _those clothes,_ he hasn't been able to think about any financial calculations. All he ever does is count the buttons of her shirts, wondering how long it would take to undo them all._

"_You weren't," she grins as she slowly crawls on top of the table, giving him a perfect view of her cleavage now that her top button is undone. "You were paying attention to _me_, and now, you're going to pay for it." Her voice is husky as she makes her way over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders as she slowly puts her legs on either side of him and sits down on his lap._

_He closes his eyes, hating himself for enjoying the show she is giving him, but not being able to help himself, as he puts his hands on her waist. She leans down, nuzzling his neck briefly before pulling his shirt collar down so that she can kiss the place where his neck meets his shoulder. _

_He hates himself even more, because he leans back in the chair and exposes his neck further, so she can keep trailing kisses there. After every other kiss, her tongue sweeps out and flicks gently over his skin, making every hair on his body stand. It feels so good, that he gains a deeper self-loathing than ever. Without meaning to, he lets out a small moan and he feels her freeze above him, smiling into his neck a moment before she pulls away. Looking up, he meets her intense gaze again, but this time his breath catches in his throat._

_Her eyes as shimmering yellow and as she smiles down at him, he can see her fangs elongating. There is a wicked look on her face as blackened veins begin to form around her eyes and her grip on his shoulders tightens._

"_Felicity-"_

_Her name comes out as a strangled cry when she pulls him close and sinks her fangs into his neck._

_-§-_

Oliver startled awake, drowned in his own sweat. He sat up and looked around the room, trying to make sense of his surroundings as his heart beat erratically in his chest.

This wasn't the first time he woke up from a nightmare since his return from the Island. He could still remember the first night he had slept in his house, when a storm had rolled in and made him dream about all the horrible monsters he had encountered on Lian Yu. His mother hadn't known any better, and she had tried to approach him while he was still deep in sleep and when he had woken up, he had almost ended up suffocating her, thinking for a second that she was a shapeshifter. Since that night, his family members had learned their lesson, allowing him to wake himself up from the nightmares when he was ready. They had never tried to come to his room at night, but Oliver knew that they sometimes heard him shouting in the middle of the night.

Sure, two years had passed since his return and the nightmares had become less frequent. Nowadays, they were usually triggered by an eventful day or a long night out on the streets, but when they appeared, they still managed to take his breath away and make him feel weak, much like he had felt when he had first arrived on Lian Yu.

This dream though, the one with Felicity crawling towards him as she slowly undressed while they were at the office, had become a regular one these last few night. He hated himself for having them, especially considering how far his dream self would sometimes allow the hybrid to go, but the dreams always ended the same way: with Felicity's fangs in his neck.

The first time he had had the dream, he had told himself that it had only been because of the fact that they had spent an incredibly long day at the office, introducing Felicity as his new assistant. He would be stupid if he tried to deny the fact that she had once been quite a beautiful human, so he reckoned that his mind was playing tricks with him because of that. Never before had he dream about a Dark One like that, because usually, the dreams he had about the monsters involved him hunting them down and killing each and every one of them.

Thus, he had dismissed the dream entirely and decided never to think about it again.

Naturally, that proved to be a lot more difficult than he thought, because the next day, Felicity wore a deep blue dress that hugged her every curve and ended a little bit above her knee. Her blonde hair had been let down and somehow, her glasses made her look almost innocent. Oliver knew better though, so when he woke that night, sweaty and panting and _a lot _more affected than he ever would have admit he was, he did a couple of (he stopped counting when he passed a hundred) push-ups before going back to bed.

The dreams continued, all of them starting and all of them ending the same way. He believed it must have been a sign, telling him to keep an eye on the hybrid because she would eventually try to sink her teeth into him.

He laid back down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. His breathing had calmed, but his head was still filled with the images of Felicity slowly unbuttoning her clothes. Groaning, he rolled over to lay on his stomach as he buried his face in his pillow.

A tiny voice in the back of his head told him that these inappropriate dreams about the little hybrid only proved how much the monster had gotten under his skin since joining him and Diggle in the Foundry. During these two weeks that she had been with them, she had proven herself to be useful, but these _dreams_.

Oliver groaned again, his mind once again reminding him of how it had felt when Felicity's tongue had lapped over his skin slowly and languidly...

The dreams made him want to drill a hole through his head.

-§-

Oliver sat in the limousine, his stare set on the city outside. The morning had been a long one, to say the least. His mother had insisted that he ate breakfast with her, Walter and Thea, and reluctantly, he had had to agree. He knew that he couldn't avoid them just because he was worried about Felicity attacking them behind his back. When he had tried to talk to Diggle about his worries, his friend had told him that Felicity would never get such an opening considering how he watched her every move at the office.

At first, Oliver had wanted to deny it, because he swore to himself that he _wasn't_ always looking over at Felicity's desk through the glass wall between their offices. Of course, the day after his conversation he started to realize just how much he actually did look over at the hybrid.

Every fifth minute or so he would glance over, only to see her so deeply engrossed in her work that the little frown on her face almost made him smile. Whenever he realized that the corners of his mouth were twitching, he would quickly gather himself and force himself to send her a glare before looking back down at his own papers.

It didn't help him feel any better that Walter was pretty much smitten with her.

The two of them had hit it off instantly and Walter had even asked him at breakfast the next morning where he had found such a "lovely girl".

_If he only knew_, Oliver had thought as he made up some silly story about walking into her at a coffee shop as she was filling out a job application, her coffee ending up all over his computer and her promising that she could fix it for him.

Walter had bought his story, but his mother had only narrowed her eyes as she looked over at Felicity, clearly suspicious.

"Oliver," Diggle spoke from the driver's seat. "We're here."

Oliver blinked a few times, seeing that they were indeed outside of Verdant. Every day this last week, Oliver had made sure that he and Diggle picked up Felicity directly from the lair so that she wouldn't try to make her way to Queen Consolidated alone. Oliver would usually go down to the basement and get her and then they would drive back there together with Diggle again once they were done at the office. Ordinarily, Oliver went home for a few hours so that his family wouldn't be too suspicious of his whereabouts, but in the evening, he would return to Verdant under the pretense of checking up on his club, when he in fact went down to the Foundry to prepare for his nightly patrol.

"You know, we could always just rent her a company car, Oliver," Diggle pointed out. "She hasn't tried anything since she joined us."

"I am well aware of that, Diggle," Oliver ground out through gritted teeth. "But I still can't trust her." He watched his friend for a moment before frowning, "What brought that comment on, by the way?"

Diggle shrugged, looking at him through the reflection in the rear view mirror, "Felicity might have mentioned the other night that she missed driving her own car."

"The other night?" Oliver asked for clarification.

"I may or may not have stayed a while longer after you headed home," Diggle admitted, once again shrugging. Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but Diggle beat him to it, "And don't give me any damn lessons about being careful around her, Oliver. I know how to protect myself and frankly, I still haven't felt the need to protect myself from Felicity."

Oliver shot him a glare before opening the door to head outside, "You're too soft." He slammed the door shut before Diggle could speak again and headed for the club, unlocking the front door. During the day he never used the back door that lead directly to the lair in order to avoid people thinking something was being hidden there.

He walked down the stairs soundlessly, as he normally did and punched in the secret code before opening the door, expecting to find Felicity sitting on the cot they had installed there when she moved in, as he always found her. This time though, he froze on the last step for half a second before quickly turning around with his eyes shut tightly.

"_Felicity_," he growled. "Where the hell are your clothes?"

"Oliver!" she exclaimed, and he could hear as she quickly moved around behind him to get dressed. When he had walked in, she had had her back turned toward him, wearing nothing but a pair of pink and white striped boy-shorts and a white bra. That small millisecond that he had frozen, he hadn't been able to help the way his eyes had traveled down her toned body and the pictures from the dreams that haunted him began flooding his mind again as he cursed himself for being weak.

"I'm so sorry!" she said quickly. "I was just so tired after last night's mission and then I think I hit the snooze button once on my phone and I don't know what happened after that but I overslept and _okay_, I might have hit the snooze button three times, but in my defense I was having the most awesome dream for _once_ and-"

"Felicity," he ground out her name through gritted teeth. "Are you dressed yet?" He still hadn't opened his eyes, but he wasn't really sure why. Felicity was a female, even though she was a monster and he wasn't exactly unfamiliar with the anatomy of a woman. In fact, he had spent the better part of his late teenage years up to his shipwreck on Lian Yu worshiping said anatomy. Seeing Felicity half-naked shouldn't bother him as much as it did, especially not since he and Diggle usually worked out without shirts around her too and she never battered an eyelash in their direction. Still, he decided to blame his uneasiness on Felicity actually being a monster because _he_ couldn't be attracted to a monster of any kind, could he? Then, there were his nightmares about her. Yeah, they must be why he couldn't bring himself to look at her at the moment.

"Yeah," Felicity squeaked behind him and he finally turned around to face her. Today she was wearing a deep purple dress, paired with a pair of black flats. Over her arm she had draped a black cardigan and was holding tightly to her bag. "I'm sorry," she repeated and he couldn't help but notice how her face was a little flushed. That shocked him a little, mostly because she was usually so pale, like all other Nightcrawlers. The slight blush on her cheeks made her look...almost human.

"Whatever," he said dismissively, "Diggle is waiting for us in the car."

"Okay," she nodded, walking toward the stairs, but not before shutting the lights off in the lair. There was still a little light flowing in through the door that he had left open, so he could just make out the stairs. She walked past him, but not before sending a look his way, her eyes flashing yellow briefly, making his stomach turn when he once again cursed himself over letting one of Them into his life. When he started after her, he _almost_ failed to notice the way he had automatically lifted his hand to put it on her lower back, before pulling it back, balling it up in a fist by his side.

This was most certainly going to be a long day.

-§-

A frowning Oliver wasn't exactly an unusual sight, especially not since he had agreed to shadow Walter around the office, per his mother's request. The arrangement worked as a perfect cover for him too since his mother had stopped hounding him on where he disappeared every night. She understood that he was a 'hardworking' man and that he too needed to let loose every once in a while, which was also why she hadn't protested profusely when he had told her that he would keep managing his nightclub in the Glades, that he had opened shortly after his return from the dead.

It had taken Oliver a few months to get things set up, both in the club and in the secret lair underneath it. During that period, he had gotten Diggle to join him and successfully evaded both his mother and younger sister who kept questioning his motives for opening Verdant. They had both refused to believe that he hadn't changed at all since being shipwrecked and he had continuously told them that he was serious about his business.

Six months after Verdant opened for business, one year after his return from Lian Yu, Oliver agreed to follow Walter around at the office and learn about the company that his father had left behind him. During the year that he had been working at Queen Consolidated, he had quickly gotten the hang of things, but that didn't necessarily mean that he enjoyed sitting in board meetings all day. Nevertheless, working at Queen Consolidated allowed him to see his mother more often and in turn keep her from asking questions about his whereabouts all the time. She had been very protective since he had returned and in a way he understood her. Also, working at his parent's company made it easy to keep playing up the charades of being a playboy billionaire too. He was known in the company for flirting shamelessly with the employees, but never actually taking a step into something deeper. He couldn't give in to wanting _more, _especially with the secret life he led.

His last _real_ girlfriend had been Laurel Lance, and that had been before the Island. That relationship ended the second he sneaked Laurel's younger sister onto the Queen's Gambit and then proceeded to 'die' in a storm. He had cheated and lied and mistreated Laurel in ways that still shamed him immensely. He wanted to believe that he had changed and since he had returned, he and his ex-girlfriend had managed to somehow build a small friendship at least.

Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Laurel was happily dating Thomas Merlyn, Oliver's best friend.

Tommy and Laurel had found each other while grieving Oliver, but Oliver knew that their love for each other went a lot deeper than just a way to cope with loss. Maybe it had begun that way, but it had evolved into something much more real and Oliver had stepped aside the moment he had realized that.

During his five years away, he had held onto Laurel's picture for dear life. He had wanted to survive, if only so that he could come back to her and tell her how sorry he was for all the hurt that he had caused her. Not only had he cheated on her with her sister, but he had also been the cause of her sister's demise. Laurel had needed time when he had gotten back and he had given her the distance she had craved. A few months after he returned, Tommy showed up at the mansion, Laurel behind him. They had talked and Oliver had apologized again, this time feeling that he and Laurel could at least try to mend their friendship. It had been a start, but he knew that he could never allow himself to be as close to her or any other woman again, especially not in a romantic way.

During the two years that he had been back, he had given dating a try. McKenna had been a breath of fresh air and things had worked pretty well between them, until she got injured one evening by a Dark One that he had been hunting. He had been hunting the Nightcrawler and McKenna had been hunting him, because he was the vigilante and she was the cop that had been assigned the quest to capture him. She moved away and never looked back at him and he vowed to never get emotionally attached to another woman again, because she would always end up hurt in the end.

His sister, mother and Laurel were the exceptions though, at least to a degree. Thea was the most important person in his life and his mother was his mother. He lived with them and he would never be able to shake them, even if he wanted to. Laurel was now just a friend, but he still felt a connection with her that wouldn't let him just cut off all ties. Especially now that she and Tommy were together. It made things easier for Oliver to know that Laurel was off limits, but he knew that she would always have a special place in his heart.

Having a woman in his life that wasn't one of these three wasn't an option for Oliver, and yet, he found himself frowning at the blonde hybrid that had somehow crawled into his life.

She was laughing with her head thrown back at something Walter had said, the older man watching her amused, as she helped him with some forms. They had been talking and laughing for over fifteen minutes and Oliver didn't know if he should go interrupt them or if he should just let them be.

It was no secret that Walter Steele was absolutely smitten by the girl and that fact annoyed the hell out of Oliver. He knew that he couldn't exactly tell Walter to stop requesting her help with his computer all the time, because now that Walter knew that Felicity had gone to MIT, he somehow found everyone in the IT-department to be highly incompetent compared to her. According to him, Felicity was one of the nicest young woman he had ever encountered and he enjoyed listening to her talk about all the various ways they could improve the company's image.

Earlier this morning Moira had been the one to point out that Felicity was just Oliver's _assistant_, which meant that she didn't have a say in what they should or shouldn't do with the company _she owned_. Oliver and his mother had been walking toward a meeting with their lawyer regarding some shares when they had overheard Felicity and Walter talking. Oliver hadn't missed the harsh coldness in his mother's tone when she had spoken and he most certainly hadn't missed the way Felicity's face had fallen.

"We were just making conversation, Moira," Walter had told his wife, trying to ease the tension that had suddenly skyrocketed in the room.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen," Felicity had said quickly. "Or is it Queen-Steele? Uhm, either way, I'm sorry. It really wasn't my place." She had glanced over at Oliver, who had actually felt a little bad for her- at least until he realized that he was feeling bad for her and proceeded to hate himself again.

"Maybe you should go print out the notes I sent you yesterday, Felic- _Ms. Smoak,_" he quickly said, both because he wanted to get her away from his mother and her husband, but also because he had almost slipped up the professional act they had been trying to keep up.

Felicity had looked at him briefly before nodding. She had actually printed those notes the moment he had sent them to her and immediately had them in his office on his desk, but they both decided that it was better if she just left.

After the meeting with the lawyer, Oliver had gone back to his office only to find Walter once again by Felicity's desk, the two of them laughing. He had passed them without them even noticing and then sat down by his own desk to watch them.

What was Felicity playing at?

Why was she trying to charm his step-father and make him putty in her hands? Was this some way to get under his skin? Maybe he should tell her that she had managed doing that without involving Walter at all...?

He stood from his chair and walked out to them, "Walter, _Ms. Smoak_." He nodded at them as he walked toward them while buttoning his suit jacket.

"Oliver," Walter greeted, a smile still on his lips as he tore his eyes away from Felicity, who looked up at Oliver from her seat. There was some kind of feeling bubbling inside of him when he saw just the smallest hint of a blush creep up her cheeks. "We didn't hear you come in."

"I passed you five minutes ago, but it seems like you were too _caught up_ in your conversation with Ms. Smoak that you failed to notice me," Oliver said, a fake smile plastered on his face. He shot a darker look at Felicity, "Have you prepared the reports for tomorrows meeting?"

"Yes, Mr. Queen," Felicity replied, picking up a stack of papers. "I'll put them on your desk before we- before _I _head out tonight," she quickly corrected.

"Just making sure," Oliver said, trying his hardest to sound polite in front of Walter. "You seemed to be preoccupied before."

Walter took a small step toward him and put his hand on Oliver's shoulder, "I was just apologizing for Moira's behavior earlier today. Then Felicity told me a story about one of her professors at MIT and I had to tell her about my own experiences within the educational system."

Oliver bit his tongue trying to keep from snapping at the older man that he should stay away from Felicity before speaking, "It's fine."

He looked back at Felicity and he could tell that she knew that he was lying through his teeth. It was an uncanny ability of hers. She was able to tell whenever he was lying or telling her or other people half-truths. He didn't know if it had something to do with her being a hybrid or if it was something she just picked up on after observing him for so long.

"Well, I'm afraid I have to get back to my own work now," Walter smiled down at Felicity. "It's always a pleasure, Ms. Smoak. Good bye, Oliver."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Steele," Felicity called after him.

"Bye," Oliver nodded curtly.

He waited until he heard the elevator ding before turning back to Felicity, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Felicity frowned.

"You and Walter," Oliver ground out. "You need to stop that, whatever it is that is going on."

"Nothing is 'going on', Oliver," Felicity glared. "We're just being friendly."

"A little too friendly," Oliver spat. "My mom doesn't like it and she's getting suspicious about your intentions."

Moira had expressed her concerns about Felicity to Oliver after the meeting with their lawyers. She told him that she didn't feel like she could trust the young blonde, especially not after what she went through with Oliver's father.

It hadn't been a secret that Robert Queen had cheated on Moira while they had been together, but Oliver had been blind to it in his younger years, mostly due to the fact that he never really bothered with paying attention. He knew that Walter loved his mother more than anything in the world, but that didn't mean that his mother would simply trust any woman who approached Walter; professionally or generally.

"My _intentions_?" Felicity frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Walter is old enough to be my _father_."

"Well, he is _my_ step-father, so _back off_."

Both of his hands were resting on her desk, effectively trapping her between him and the table. She was still sitting in her chair, glaring at him and he could see the annoyance that she felt in her eyes.

"Walter was nice to me, Oliver," she told him slowly. "That is the _only _reason that I talk to him. He is _nice_ to me, compared to _you_." She rose from her seat, forcing him to take a small step back from her. "I made a mistake.

He loomed over her as he kept glaring at her, "Getting friendly with my step-father? I don't disagree."

"_No_," Felicity snapped. "Agreeing to be your Executive Assistant and signing up to help you. This compromise was the stupidest thing I've ever agreed to. If you can't even believe me when I tell you that I'm not going to hurt your loved ones, or trust me enough to do one thing here in the office without sinking my fangs into someone's neck, then I don't want to be a part of this anymore. Screw the information I have and _screw you_, Oliver!" She reached for the purse that she had bought on one of her shopping trips with Diggle, but he caught her wrist before she could reach it.

"Stop," he growled. "Where the hell do you think you're going? You're not allowed to leave until _I _leave."

Slowly, she turned back to face him. Her eyes flashed yellow briefly before turning back to her baby-blue shade. "Let go of my wrist before I break yours," she said. The calmness in her tone made his skin crawl but before he could figure out a reply, he heard a light knock on the door.

"Oliver?" Both he and Felicity snapped their head to the side, facing Moira who had managed to walk in without either of them noticing. "Am I interrupting something?"

Oliver looked back at Felicity, who looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't noticed just how close they were standing to each other and he could only imagine what his mother was thinking about the way she had caught them; faces close, his hand on her wrist and his body trapping hers against the desk.

"No, Mrs. Queen," Felicity spoke before he could. She pulled her wrist out of his grip way too easily and he frowned, understanding that she had indeed been serious about breaking his wrist before. "I was just asking Mr. Queen here if it would be okay for me to head home a little earlier since I'm not feeling well and he agreed that I should leave and rest. I think I might be coming up with the flu."

"Yes, it has been going around lately," Moira said, but she didn't seem too convinced by the lie that Felicity had managed to make up on the spot. "How _kind_ of Oliver to let you leave a little earlier."

Had Felicity known that his mother had been on her way up to his office? She was a hybrid, and as she had pointed out so many times, she had hybrid-hearing, so she must have, right?

Oliver stared down at Felicity, who _smirked_ at him.

Oh yeah, she had _definitively_ heard his mother approaching.

And now she had him cornered because there was no way in hell that Oliver would make a scene in front of his mother and risk exposure. That little...

"So, I'll be seeing you tomorrow then, Mr. Queen," Felicity said. "Mrs. Queen," she acknowledged in passing as she pulled on her coat. Oliver followed her with his eyes as she walked away. Before she rounded the corner that would put her out of her sight, she turned around to glance at him one last time.

Her eyes flashed yellow yet again and she actually had the audacity to _wink_ at him, right before she disappeared from his view.

He gripped her desk and clenched his jaw, hating that he couldn't just follow her and give her a piece of his mind. Their compromise was that she would _always_ stay by his side so that he could keep an eye on him. The rare moments that he wasn't able to be around her, Diggle would be and she had just broken the rules they had set up by leaving earlier than planned.

"Is everything alright, Oliver?" his mother asked, bringing him out of his thoughts of what Felicity's punishment should be for defying him.

"Yeah, just thinking," he mumbled, sitting down in Felicity's chair. "Sorry, mom," he sighed, "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with your blonde assistant then?" Moira pressed. It seemed like she wanted to cut straight to chase and not talk around the subject like she usually did. "Is there something going on between the two of you? Don't think I haven't noticed the way you always seem to sneak off with her and use hushed whispers when you think no one is watching."

"Mom," Oliver said calmly. "There is _definitely_ _nothing_ going on between Felicity and me; she's not my type."

"Oh please," Moira scoffed. "A beautiful, young, smart blonde is _not_ your type?"

_A bloodsucking monster isn't_, Oliver thought to himself. "We're just...friends," he said, inwardly cringing. The thought of being friends with Felicity made him feel as if he needed to throw up.

"Well," Moira said, still not sounding convinced, "I think you should keep an eye on her. I can't say I'm convinced about you claim that you're only friends, but I have a bad feeling about this girl, Oliver."

"Don't worry, mom," Oliver insisted.

He'll keep an eye on her alright.

* * *

><p>"Dig, I'm leaving," Felicity told the older man as she approached him. He had just been arriving when she had stepped out of the elevator.<p>

"What? Where's Oliver?" Diggle frowned.

"That asshat is upstairs with his mother, who probably thinks I'm having an affair with her husband while also sleeping with my boss, also known as _her son_, on the side," Felicity rambled. "Could you please drive me to the Foundry? I can't stay here another minute."

Diggle watched her silently before nodding, "Okay, but I think we should make a stop first."

-§-

Felicity waited patiently on Diggle in the car. He had made a stop on the way to the Foundry at Big Belly Burger to get her something to eat. She had to admit, the man seemed to understand her better than most people.

When she was alone, she had managed to steal a blood bag or two from the hospital to drink. Being a hybrid meant that she didn't have a craving for blood like vampires did, but drinking it made it easier for her to keep hidden because she wouldn't have to eat so much human food. Drinking blood simply kept her for being hungry too often.

Now that she had promised Oliver and Diggle that she didn't need the substance, she had to eat food more regularly so that she wouldn't starve.

Okay, so a hybrid can't really starve to _death_, but they can desiccate and remain immobile until someone feeds them blood...which would be very inconvenient.

Diggle had made it a habit to always bring food down to the Foundry for her and during the day, she was a frequent visitor in the cafeteria at Queen Consolidated, much to Oliver's annoyance.

Felicity found herself frowning as she thought about the man. She _understood_ that he had a problem with her because of what she was, but she had been trying so hard for over two weeks to show him that she wasn't like the monsters that he had encountered before. Sometimes, she tried to imagine the horrors he must have gone through after getting shipwrecked but she also knew that nothing she thought of could measure up to the real thing.

She felt bad for him and she really, really just wanted to help.

If she could, she would have told her everything she had learned while in captivity about what the other Dark Ones were planning, but she was afraid that Oliver might try to kill her the second he got the information out of her.

Diggle trusted her more than Oliver, the proof being that he had just left her in the car alone without warning her of what would happen if she tried to run away. She was happy that Diggle was willing to give her a chance, but it annoyed her to no end that Oliver just _refused _to do the same thing!

Maybe that was why she enjoyed dressing up so much in front of him?

She was able to sense the annoyance he felt each and every time he laid eyes on her, but that wasn't the only emotion she picked up off of him. His scent gave her the impression that he was also very confused about her, almost as if he wanted to believe her but was too stubborn to do so. The moment she had felt his confusion, she had silently vowed to herself that she would earn his trust by being the best assistant he had ever had (not that he had had many, apparently). That, of course, didn't mean that she couldn't have a little fun too.

Truth be told, she got easily bored in the Foundry, so she took every chance she got to enjoy herself while she was at Queen Consolidated. Even though she was trying to earn Oliver's trust and she knew that he hated whenever she spoke to Walter, she had a lot of fun conversing with the older man. She had missed meeting people who didn't know the truth about the People of Darkness. They were oblivious and got to know her for _her_ and not the supposed monster that she was. Walter was nice and she enjoyed talking to him without being judged, something that Oliver didn't seem to be able to grasp.

According to him, she had an ulterior motive with everything that she did, and sometimes, his bullheadedness made her want to slam him up against a wall and just shake him.

_Or kiss him._

Wait, what? Where had that come from?

Okay, so Oliver was an attractive man, and just like any other woman, she _had_ noticed. She was just as capable of being attracted to someone as any other woman, no matter how heartless Oliver made her out to be. The miniscule attraction that she felt for him might have something to do with the fact that she saw him as a hero for everything he was doing to protect the innocent, but he was definitively off limits for her. At times, he drove her insane because she knew that he hated her and sometimes, she almost hated him too, to be honest. Why did he just refuse to see that she wasn't just a monster? Why was it so hard for him to give her a chance, like Diggle had done?

She was actually afraid that she might ever earn his trust and that he would never believe her when she told him that she really didn't want to cause him any harm.

Being a hybrid wasn't exactly easy. She had been turned into one just a few months ago and she was still learning to control her temper. The night that Oliver had agreed to compromise, she had lost her cool for a second and she would never forget the shame she had felt wash over her when she had noticed that Diggle had actually pulled the gun on her. She hated to not be in control of herself and her anger at Oliver and at the world had gotten the better of her for a moment. Later, when she had been alone with Diggle in the lair, she had told him that if it ever happened again, he shouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on her.

She would rather die than become a _real_ monster.

From the window she could see Diggle approaching, two large bags in his hands. He entered the car and handed her one of them before opening his own and taking two fries into his mouth.

"Oliver called me," he stated.

"What did Mr. Grumpy want?" Felicity sneered, taking a sip from her soda before reaching for the burger in the bag.

"Told me you left," Diggle said, "but I told him you were with me and that you hadn't broken the rules we had set up."

"Great," Felicity nodded. "I'm still mad at him though."

"Which is understandable," Diggle agreed. "But Felicity, you have to understand him too, you know... It wasn't easy for him to let you into our team."

"He _hasn't _let me in, Dig," Felicity protested. "He doesn't trust me at all and no matter what I do, he will always just see me as a monster!"

"Give him time," Diggle insisted. "He'll come around sooner or later... Probably _later_, but the important thing is that he _will_."

"I just want him to give me a chance," Felicity mumbled, "and it's upsetting that he simply refuses to believe that not every monster is bad. I mean, there are _humans_ out there who are just as bad, and sometimes even worse than the Dark Ones I know!"

Diggle shrugged, popping another fry in his mouth, "Patience, Felicity."

_Patience, Felicity_.

"That's what I keep telling myself," she told the older man. "Although, patience doesn't come easily for us hybrids."

"Then you have to understand that _trust_ doesn't come easily to Oliver," Diggle told her, still as calm as ever.

"I'll earn his trust, Dig," she said confidently, "even if it's the last thing I do."

It wasn't until they drove to the Foundry and she saw Oliver beating up a training dummy while simultaneously glaring at her that she realized that she had made herself a promise that wouldn't be so easily fulfilled.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: So there it was! Some schmexy dreams for Oliver, an awkward half-naked Olicity moment, tensions at the office, some LaurelTommy history and a suspicious Moira! Oh, and then there's little miss Smoak and her battle to make Oliver trust her, but even she can get frustrated sometimes! ;)**

**Feel free to tell me what you thought of the chapter in a review, and once again: Congratulations to all of you who have made it through the hiatus! ;)**

**xx**


	7. The Case

**Note: Okay, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say it without sugarcoating it: I think I broke my brain with this chapter.**

**IT'S OVER 15,000 WORDS LONG PEOPLE! That's at least TWICE as long as the last chapter and I've been working my a** off, both in school and at home at the same time. So, I SINCERELY hope you like it and please, please, PLEASE leave a comment and tell me what you though! I can't even begin by telling you how much it would mean to me! =)**

**Thank you for all the support I've gotten so far on this story and a special thanks to the guest that reviewed on the last chapter! Don't worry, I won't let Oliver push Felicity that far with his stubbornness! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**7: The Case**

Oliver sat on the stool and picked up the discarded arrows that were on the table. He looked over at Diggle who was practicing with a training dummy before glancing over at Felicity, who seemed engrossed with something on her computer screen.

Not that the computers were _hers_. Essentially, they belonged to him and she was just borrowing them currently...which she had been doing for the past month.

Some night Oliver still couldn't believe that an entire month had passed since Felicity had contacted them and gotten him to chase after her throughout the city. Their arrangement to work together had been meant to be temporary, but it seemed like Diggle had grown fond of the hybrid and she too had developed something similar to friendship with his partner. Oliver still believed it was bullshit, and that Felicity was just waiting for the opportune moment to stab them in the back and take them to her Sire, but the little Nightcrawler had been getting under his skin ever since the day she joined them.

The dreams he was frequently having about her didn't help much to ease the tension that seemed to always rise between them every time they were in the same room.

He was still mad about the way she had walked out of the office that day when he had accused her once again of having a hidden agenda with joining them, and she was pissed off enough that she only talked to him if it was Hood related.

Not that he minded though. He was actually enjoying not having to spend more time than necessary with her because it made it easier for him to control himself- Not that he _needed_ to control himself.

Diggle had been spending more and more time with Felicity though. He was helping her train, even though Oliver had pointed out that Felicity had been able to protect herself against the other monsters that had attacked them the night he had brought her in. Felicity had pointedly ignored him and told Diggle that she wanted to learn how to fight better, because she only had basic training and instincts to go on. Oliver had watched them once or twice and he had to admit, the hybrid was picking up the fighting techniques quickly.

Every day for the last two weeks, Oliver had come down to the lair only to be greeted by a new item on his weapons desk. Felicity was apparently fond of tinkering whenever she had free time and she was making up inventions that were actually making his hunting a lot easier (not that he would admit it or, God forbid, _thank her_ for it). Diggle was the one that expressed both of their gratitude though, and for the time being, Oliver was slowly accepting that the Dark One that he had brought in was ever so slowly becoming an asset.

His mind was slowly treading into dangerous waters and he had to distract himself before he became too soft around the hybrid, like Diggle had become. He went back to sharpening his arrows, preparing for a night of simple patrolling. There had been a few attacks in the Glades these last few days and he recognized the signs of a vampire at work when he saw them. He had been tracking the monster, but come up empty every night that he had gone out early, hoping to catch it. Felicity had set up the computers in the lair so that they would alert them as soon as the police got a call or suspicious tip that sounded familiar to a monster attack. It made his work a little easier, which he also refused to admit.

At times, he would catch himself before he could slip up and thank Felicity for her help. It was becoming a frequent thing and he had bitten his own tongue quite a few times out of stubbornness. Diggle kept telling him that it was okay to show some gratitude but Oliver insistently glared on, shooting arrows at Felicity with his eyes every chance he could get.

The worst thing about it all though, was that Felicity always seemed to sense what he was trying to stop himself from saying, and the corners of her lips would turn up ever so lightly.

Even worse was the feeling he got in his stomach, each and every time he managed to bring a smile to her lips, while telling himself that he hated her for beaming at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

-§-

Oliver returned to the Foundry around midnight only to find Felicity sitting alone on the little cot he got her when she started sleeping there.

"Where's Dig?" he asked, looking around for the older man.

"Shower," Felicity mumbled. "Everything go well tonight?" she asked, looking up at him. He gave her a once over and rolled his eyes.

As if she cared whether it had gone well or not. He could almost bet that she was hoping that he _hadn't _caught the vampire that was attacking helpless women.

"I didn't find anything," Oliver replied anyway, putting his bow back in its case before stripping off his hood. He watched as Felicity once again looked down in her lap and frowned when he realized that she was actually reading something...

A brown, leather bound book; his list.

"What are you doing?" he asked, annoyance evident in his tone as he walked up to her.

"I've been going through the names on your list," Felicity answered, still not looking up from the book.

"Why?" Oliver wanted to know. "Are you trying to see if I've crossed off some of your _friends_?"

It happened so quickly, that Oliver almost missed it. For one very brief second, Felicity visibly _flinched_, before returning to look at him impassively.

"Don't be an asshole, Oliver," Diggle's voice sounded from behind him. Oliver turned around and faced his partner who was wiping his face with a towel. Diggle gave him a warning look and shook his head at him, and Oliver almost felt bad for making the comment. Still, a part of him believed he was in the right because he most likely _had _taken down some of Felicity's friends.

"It's fine, Diggle," Felicity said before Oliver had a chance to reply to the man. He turned back to face her again when she looked up at him and continued, "I've actually been running facial recognition on all of them." She held up the book and wiggled it a little in the air, "Do you know that some of these people- Hunt, Brodeur, Holder and Daniels- are some of the biggest bads in this city?"

"I am aware of that, yes," Oliver sighed, rolling his eyes at the hybrid. Why was she telling him what he already knew?

"So why haven't you gone after them yet?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

Oliver looked over at Diggle, silently asking him if Felicity was annoying him too, but Diggle didn't seem to bothered with her questions.

"I haven't been able to figure out what kind of monster they are," Oliver admitted, meeting Felicity's gaze.

A look appeared on her face as she glanced down at the list again. He could see the way her eyes moved over the pages as she flipped through them before looking up at him again, "That's probably because they are _human_."

"_What?_"

Oliver looked over at Diggle who had spoken at the same time as him. His partner had taken a step toward Felicity at her statement and she looked between them with a confused look.

"Warren Patel, Adam Hunt, Jason Brodeur, James Holder," she read out loud. "They are all human."

"That's impossible," Oliver spat, irritation bubbling up inside of him.

"Highly possible, if you ask me," Felicity said. "I've been around for a while now and _sure_, these people dabble with the Dark Ones, but they aren't a part of the People of Darkness."

Oliver stared at her for a moment. "Bertinelli-"

"-was changed four years ago," Felicity finished for him. "If this list was written over seven years ago, he was still human at the time."

Oliver looked over at Diggle with a raised eyebrow. Had Diggle told her about how Oliver had gotten his hands on that list? Had he told the hybrid that had infiltrated their lives one of his biggest secrets?

"You don't know what you're talking about," Oliver angrily protested.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Felicity shrugged. "All I do know is that there is probably more to this list than even _you_ know, Oliver."

Oliver shook his head and turned his back to her, not wanting to hear another word of what she was saying. Without saying a word, he went to the bathroom and changed. When he was dressed again, he walked right past Diggle who was discussing something quietly with Felicity and snatched the still open notebook from Felicity's hands.

He held it up in front of her face, "You have no business interfering with what's in this book. When Diggle and I choose our targets, you're _just_ going to help us locate them, as you've been doing so far. You're _not_ supposed to meddle or comment on anything else. _Understood_?"

Felicity blinked a few times before slowly nodding. He could tell that she didn't agree with him though, but a small part of him still felt satisfied that he had gotten to tell her off without Diggle butting in or her protesting. Maybe she had finally understood that she had been out of line? The list was personal to him, because of his father and his father's dying wish, and neither Felicity nor Diggle would ever be able to understand how serious he was about it.

He told Diggle goodbye and ignored Felicity when she called out a "Have a good night!" after him. Driving himself home, he was happy to see that everyone else in the house was already asleep.

Tiredly, he walked up the stairs and to his room, throwing off his pants and shirt before crawling into the bed in just his boxers. It was warm in the room and he was exhausted after the long night, but he knew there was no way he was going to get any sleep.

Felicity's words were still echoing in his mind. Could there really be more to the list than he knew?

The first time he laid eyes on the notebook had been a hazy moment that he hardly remembered. It had been right after the Queen's Gambit went down, a day or two into just drifting at an open sea without much food or water. He had been exhausted and half asleep when his father had taken the book out and just looked at its cover before securing it back into his pocket again. It was that afternoon that his father had whispered words into his ears and Oliver had tiredly proceeded to tell him to get some rest.

Then, the loud shot had echoed around them and Oliver had startled awake just quick enough to see the other man that had been in the lifeboat with them tumble over the edge and into the water. His father had looked him in the eyes and told him to right his wrongs before putting the gun to his own temple and pulling the trigger.

Oliver remembered screaming, but most of all, he remembered the way his father's blood had colored the side of the lifeboat and slowly dripped down into the ocean.

He came across the notebook again days later; when he made it to the Island. Memories of seeing his father with the book in his hands was the only thing that made him keep it. At first he had wanted to throw it away, but then he remembered what his father had said about surviving so that he could make it back home and make things right. It didn't make much sense, but Oliver needed something to hold on to. He needed something to remind him of the promise he hadn't even known he had made that day.

"_They use the night as cover,_" his father had whispered into his ear. _"Survive, make it home and stop them before they destroy the city."_

It wasn't until years later, after Yao Fei's death- Shado and Slade- that he understood what his father had meant. Starling City had been infected by the disease that was the People of Darkness. Whenever he managed to make it back home, he needed to take down all the people on that list, which he had assumed were the big bad crime lords that had a darker secret than laundering money and killing people... They also had a blood-sucking secret.

Oliver turned around in his bed, looking at the clock on the wall. It was past three in the morning now. Sighing, he turned again, this time resting with his back to the clock. His mind once again filled with memories of his first days on the Island, of his father's demise and the first time he had encountered a Nightcrawler. He remembered the silent vows he had made to his father during one particularly cold night that he had thought he would freeze to death in Yao Fei's cave.

He laid back on his back, thinking about Felicity and what she had said earlier this night. While he glared up at the ceiling, it was clear that there was no way that his demons would let him sleep tonight.

-§-

The week continued in the same way.

Oliver had to exhaust himself out on the streets, trying to find the vampire that was killing people before returning to the Foundry to beat up the set up dummies until he literally couldn't stand anymore. Diggle had driven him home these last few days, mainly because he was to tired to drive himself home.

In some way, his exhaustion proved to be a good thing because the media had picked up on him exiting Verdant while leaning on Diggle's shoulder, and they all assumed that he was just drunk out of his mind, like the old Oliver used to get. His family had talked to him about the sudden down-spiral he was making, but he insisted that he hadn't been drunk in months, but that he was just so tired. His sister seemed to believe him, telling him that he had become way too uptight to actually be able to have the fun that the paparazzi were telling the world he was having. Walter and Moira had just suggested that he should take a few days off of being the manager of Verdant or at least rest at home for a few days instead of going to the office.

He had promptly ignored them and continued on with what he had been doing.

It was his fourth day of a sleepless night and he was sitting in his office, reading reports while dozing off every once in a while. Felicity was "manning the fort" as she had told him herself, telling him to feel free to sleep for a while because she could keep watch for him. He was still adamant with not trusting her, which meant that he forcibly tried to keep himself awake.

He was failing miserably, he realized, when he opened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the glass wall. Raising his head from the desk, he looked over toward Felicity who was talking animatedly to someone.

_Thea_.

Oliver rose to his feet in less than a second and headed toward his door, preparing himself to fight Felicity if he needed to protect Thea from the hybrid. When he reached the door, he stopped dead in his track when he heard Thea giggling at something that Felicity had said. It seemed like his still sleep-fuzzy brain had thought that Felicity had been about to lose control and attack Thea, when in truth, it seemed like the two of them were talking casually about something and actually...getting along?

Somehow, that scared him more than anything.

"Thea?" he asked, making both his younger sister and the hybrid turn their heads in his direction. "What are you doing here?"

He walked up to stand beside Thea before shooting Felicity a warning look. She seemed to understand that he had thought that she was putting Thea in danger and gave him a short nod before leaning back in her chair, putting more distance between them.

"I have a free period and I wanted to come by and invite you out to lunch," Thea explained. "I tried calling, but you didn't pick up so I decided to drop by."

"I can see that," Oliver pointed out, still feeling tense.

"Then your _lovely_ assistant here tried to cover up the fact that you were sleeping, and we got talking," Thea said, grinning over at Felicity, who smiled back politely.

It just made Oliver feel even more uneasy. He wanted to get Thea out of there and as far away from Felicity as possible. "So, lunch then?" he asked and Thea nodded.

"Only if you're up for it," she said.

"Of course I am, Speedy," he joked, putting an arm around her shoulders. He looked over at Felicity. "There aren't any meetings that I need to be aware of, are there, Felicity?"

Felicity checked the computer screen before shaking her head, "Nope."

"Why don't you head down, Thea, and I'll join you in a moment? I just need to put the reports in place before we head out," Oliver said, looking back at his sister.

"Yeah, sure," Thea winked, facing Felicity. "It was really nice meeting you, Felicity."

"You too," Felicity smiled back. Thea glanced at Oliver one last time before heading out of the office.

Instantly, Oliver turned back to Felicity, "Don't get any funny ideas while I'm out. I'll call Diggle and tell him to come over and keep you company."

"I'm offended that you think I would even attempt having fun without you," Felicity rolled her eyes before wincing when she realized what she had said. "What I meant to say was that you don't have to worry about me doing anything when you're not here. I mean-"

"I understand what you mean," Oliver bit out, but it was too late, because his mind had already filled with images from his recurring dreams.

That was probably the most horrible thing about his sleepless nights. Those rare moments that he was actually able to get an hour or two of sleep were still filled with vivid dreams about Felicity slowly undressing him with her teeth and nimble fingers.

He suppressed a shudder when he remembered that one particular dream that involved the salmon ladder in the Foundry.

"If it'll make you feel better," Felicity said, finishing a sentence that he hadn't heard at the beginning of. He watched at her pink lips kept moving but he still wasn't hearing anything. All he did, was remember the way that she had smiled at him in his dream– right before she had sunk her teeth into him again.

"Oliver? Are you even listening to me?"

He looked down at her only to see a small smile tugging at her lips. It was almost as if she had been able to read his mind or that she could sense that he had been thinking about her.

"What?" he scowled at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

She took in his defensive posture and shook her head at him, "I was telling you that I can agree to let Diggle babysit me while you're away, if it will make you feel better and I was trying to remind you that Thea is probably waiting downstairs for you."

"Mhm..." he mumbled thoughtfully, once again looking over her face.

"Relax, Oliver," Felicity sighed. "I won't be going on a killing spree when you're not here. I wouldn't deny you the fun of killing me since I know you're looking forward to it."

"Good," Oliver nodded slowly, but he felt kind of bad for the way that her face had fallen.

"I'll see you later in the Foundry," Felicity said. "You don't have anything else scheduled and you probably won't be needed here until tomorrow. Walter has had me prepare some things for the Unidac auction, so I'll be keeping busy here for a while."

"Don't leave Diggle's side," Oliver finally ordered, already texting the older man so that he could come and stay with Felicity while Oliver was out with Thea.

"I promise, I won't," Felicity nodded. "Go, have fun with your sister and for God's sake, get some rest. You look like something that the cat dragged in."

A curt nod later, he was on his way to the door. He hadn't wanted Felicity to see the way his lips had twitched up in a half-smile because he hated the effect she was starting to have on him.

Thea was standing with her arms crossed, leaning against the limousine that she had most likely made her way to Queen Consolidated in from school. "So Felicity, huh?" she winked.

"What about Ms. Smoak?" Oliver frowned.

"Oh, so it's suddenly 'Ms. Smoak' now, is it? Earlier you seemed to be on first name basis with her," Thea grinned as they sat in the limousine.

Oliver recalled that he had called Felicity by her name and internally groaned at himself for slipping up such a way around Thea. It was enough that his younger sister kept questioning where he was all night, but to now have her suspect something between him and Felicity was even worse. He didn't want her to keep digging further into his secrets.

"Felicity is my employee, Thea," Oliver sighed, rolling his eyes at his sister.

"Are you sure that's all? She's kind of gorgeous," Thea casually pointed out.

As if he hadn't noticed.

"Drop it, Thea," Oliver said. "Our relationship is strictly professional."

"If you say so," Thea muttered, crossing her arms. "But she was very sweet, so I wouldn't exactly blame you if you weren't able to keep your hands to yourself."

He shook his head at his sister's antics before telling the driver to head for Big Belly Burger. Checking his phone, he saw that he had gotten a text message from Diggle, telling him that he was keeping Felicity company now and that he shouldn't worry. Felicity apparently also sent her regards, telling him to loosen up and relax with his sister because he clearly needed to get the stick out of his ass.

A chuckle escaped his lips before he could help himself and Thea looked over at him curiously. He quickly put on a serious mask and slipped his phone back into his pocket, ignoring the playful wink that Thea once again shot him.

It was almost as if she too was able to tell what was going through his mind.

-§-

After eating lunch, Oliver and Thea decided to take a walk while they waited for their limo to come back. They had told their driver to circle around for a bit until they called him, so they had a few more minutes until he came back for them.

They were walking down the street when two familiar faces crossed their paths.

"Ollie, Thea!" Laurel Lance smiled at them, covering her surprise at seeing them there.

"Laurel," Oliver smiled back before turning to his best friend, "Tommy."

"Hey man," Tommy said, grinning at him. "What are you two doing here?"

"Oh, I just skipped school to have lunch with Ollie," Thea shrugged casually as Oliver shot her a glare.

"You told me you had a free period!" he accused, but she just grinned at him.

"Maybe you should have _Felicity _check my schedule too next time," she teased, elbowing him in his side.

"Felicity?" Laurel piped up. "Who's Felicity?"

Oliver opened his mouth to reply but Thea beat him to it once again, "Oh, she's just Oliver's pretty assistant, but do not fret; according to Ollie, their relationship is strictly professional."

Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister who was on a roll with teasing him, although he couldn't help the bad feeling that was creeping up inside of him.

He knew that he and Laurel were over and that she and Tommy were now happy together. They had been going steady for almost two years now and they were practically living together in Laurel's apartment. Still, he didn't necessarily want either Laurel or Tommy to hear about Felicity. He wanted to keep those two parts of his life separate as much as possible and the way that Thea had managed to so casually bring the hybrid up made him uncomfortable.

"Really?" Tommy grinned at Oliver, his eyes glistening with mischief. "How come you haven't mentioned that you've gotten yourself a secretary?"

"I've been kind of busy lately, Tommy," Oliver said slowly. "I haven't exactly had time to catch up with either of you. What have you been up to?" he asked, desperate to change the subject again.

"Oh, we visited my mom in Central City," Laurel said, looking over at Tommy while smiling. "We stayed there for about a week."

"That's lovely," Oliver said. "How is Dinah?"

"She's good," Tommy replied. "She was busy working, but we managed to squeeze in a dinner so that Laurel could get to know the man that she's been seeing."

"And he was really nice," Laurel said. "We had a great time there though, didn't we, Tommy?" she beamed at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, we did," Tommy agreed, gazing down at her adoringly.

Oliver smiled at his friends, happy that they were happy together. In the beginning it had been weird between them, but two years had allowed Laurel to work through her issues with him, thanks to Tommy. They were back to being friends, in a way, and Oliver would always be thankful for that. He didn't have much time to see them nowadays, since they had both been traveling around the country together whenever Laurel didn't have to work at CNRI, and Tommy was doing his best helping her while also helping Oliver manage Verdant.

It had been Oliver suggestion for Tommy to help him with the club and Tommy had been reluctant at first before finally agreeing. Tommy's father had cut him off, trying to force him to work on his own for a change instead of always relying on his trust funds. Tommy was a good manager and so far, Oliver had only had to help out at the club whenever Tommy and Laurel went on a trip. It was good to be in business with a friend that he knew he could trust, and Tommy, who thought Oliver was hooking up with someone every time he sneaked away from Verdant, helped him with a cover every time Thea tried to find out why he was coming home so late when Tommy was managing the club.

"So, we'll see you at the auction then?" Laurel said, bringing Oliver out of his thoughts.

"Excuse me, what?" Oliver asked, blinking a few times.

"The Unidac auction? Walter is trying to buy Unidac Industries and he insisted that the entire family should be there?" Thea said, frowning at Oliver. "Don't you remember?" Oliver shook his head and Thea sighed. "Well, apparently, Tommy and Laurel will be attending too, so we'll be seeing them there."

"Sounds great," Oliver smiled, still trying to remember when exactly Walter had mentioned Unidac to him. Then he remembered Felicity telling him that Walter had had her looking into some final details for the auction. "We should probably get going now, though. Thea needs to get to school again," he gave his sister a scolding look for lying to him about being free, but Thea just grinned at him.

"Yeah, and who knows? Maybe Oliver will bring Felicity to the auction too so you can meet her," she suggested. "You'll love her Tommy! She's a blast."

"You talked to her for _five minutes_," Oliver pointed out, once again feeling the uneasiness rise in him.

"And that's all it took for her to charm me," Thea grinned before turning to Tommy and Laurel again. "She _rambles_ and makes the most inappropriate innuendos without actually meaning to. She's adorable."

"Careful, Thea," Laurel laughed, "I think you might actually have a crush on this girl."

"You'll see for yourself when you meet her," Thea said. "I don't know how a brooding ass like Oliver managed to find such a wonderful person."

_She's not wonderful! She's a monster_, the protective part of Oliver's brain screamed. He needed to get Thea as far away from Felicity before she got attached to the blonde hybrid. Things could go horribly wrong if the monster managed to crawl her way inside Thea's heart too.

_Too?_

He wanted to bang his head against a wall for his brain's slip.

"Well," Tommy grinned, "I can't wait to meet this secretary of yours that has Thea so smitten." Oliver looked into Tommy's eyes and he instantly knew what his best friend was thinking. Tommy had been trying to figure out who Oliver was "dating behind his back" for months now and now that Oliver had suddenly hired a new assistant- a _gorgeous_ assistant according to Thea- his best friend's curiosity seemed to have been piqued.

"Stop teasing poor Ollie," Laurel said.

"Thank you, Laurel-" Oliver began, but Laurel continued before he had a chance to finish his sentence.

"He'll let us meet the girl when he's ready to start sharing her with the world," she smiled, making Oliver groan as he rolled his eyes at his friends and his sister.

"Okay, enough of all of this," he said as he spotted the limousine arriving. "Thea, say goodbye and get in the car."

"Bye guys," Thea waved happily before practically skipping over to the limo and getting in.

"Stop encouraging her," Oliver told Tommy. "It's bad enough that she _likes_ Felicity, so she doesn't need you filling her head with ideas that I've been seeing Felicity behind her back."

Tommy held up his hands in surrender, "I said no such thing."

"Your eyes were implying it," Oliver said. "Either way, I'll see you guys at the auction apparently."

"Sorry, Oliver," Tommy grinned, "but yeah, we'll see you at the auction."

"Bye, Ollie," Laurel smiled as she and Tommy walked away, hand in hand. Oliver looked after them for a moment before smiling to himself. It was only a matter of time before Tommy got down on one knee and asked Laurel to marry him.

And honestly?

Oliver couldn't be more happy for his friends.

-§-

"Carl Rasmussen was murdered last night," Diggle told him when he entered the lair later that evening.

Oliver recognized the name from his father's list and frowned, "And?" He could tell that there was more to the story.

"Apparently, James Holder has been killed too," Diggle said. "Gunshots, most likely a sniper."

Oliver looked over at Felicity who was typing furiously on her computer, waiting for her to comment on the matter. She hadn't changed out of her work clothes yet, which meant she ha most likely figured something out while she had been at the office so that she had had to get to work on it the moment she arrived in the lair.

"Both of them are on your list," Felicity said, "along with two other people who were also shot within this week. Someone has been targeting the same people as you and I hardly think it's a coincidence."

"And what are you doing now?" he asked the blonde hybrid as he watched her fingers fly over the keyboard at an impossible speed. It was clear that she enjoyed her hybrid advantages when working.

"I'm hacking the police department so I can get the coroners reports," Felicity explained. "I figured there needs to be a pattern there somewhere, since it's most likely the same shooter."

She took up four files on the screen as Oliver walked closer to stand by her side. He watched her eyes fly over the words in the reports quickly as she scrolled up and down and wrote down a few things on a small notepad by her side. "I got it," she said, turning around in her chair to look up at him.

That was the moment that he realized just how close he had gotten to her. He swallowed and took a step back, waiting for her to continue.

"It seems like the killer has been using a special kind of bullets when sniping his victims," Felicity said. "It's the common denominator in the reports and so far the police can't find anything else linking the victims."

"What is it, Felicity?" Diggle asked before the hybrid could get into a full-blown rambling session.

"Curare," Felicity said, holding up her notepad with the word scribbled across it in a neat handwriting. "The sniper uses Curare poison to make sure that the wounds are fatal. The poison is what killed two of them, because the bullet barely grazed them, almost as if the shooter had wanted them to suffer before dying."

Oliver looked over at Diggle, seeing his partner's face darken somewhat. There was only one sniper that they knew of that used Curare poison laced bullets when he carried out his kills.

"It's Lawton," Diggle spoke before Oliver had a chance to. "It's Floyd Lawton."

Felicity looked between the two of them, her eyes wide, "You guys know Floyd Lawton?"

"Do _you_ know him?" Oliver demanded after hearing the tone she had used.

"I've heard whispers of his name before," Felicity said. "He's a vampire mercenary, but out on the streets they call him Deadshot, because he never misses." She twirled around in her chair and clicked on a few buttons, bringing up the police reports on the people that had died from vampire attacks this past week. "It makes so much more sense now," she said.

"Lawton is the vampire that has been attacking people in the Glades," Oliver realized. "He must have figured that it was safer for him to hunt there instead of anywhere else in the city, since most of the Dark Ones reside in the Glades."

"Which means that the police force wouldn't find it out of the ordinary for a few bodies to drop, and also assume that the person sniping Rasmussen and the others was a human," Felicity finished for him.

"It's very thought through," Oliver pointed out.

"It's _horrible_," Felicity muttered, so low that Oliver had barely heard her. "Dig?"

Oliver turned to look at his friend, who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange. He seemed to be in deep thoughts and Oliver could only imagine what he was thinking of.

Floyd Lawton had killed Diggle's brother and he had been the reason that Diggle had joined Oliver's crusade to begin with. They hadn't come across Lawton personally before, and this was the first time that they had gotten a whiff of him in Starling City.

"I need some air," Diggle said. "I have to clear my head."

Before Oliver could tell him that he should stay with them in the Foundry, Diggle walked out without another word, leaving him and Felicity behind.

"Did Lawton kick his dog or something?" Felicity asked after a moment of silence, but Oliver shook his head.

"He killed his brother," he explained as Felicity's eyes widened.

"Oh," she breathed out. "I feel horrible now... Uhm, do you think it's a good idea for Diggle to be involved in this case?"

"Diggle needs this," Oliver told her. "He needs to put his brother to rest in his mind and get closure and the only way he'll be able to do so, is if we put down Lawton."

"Lawton is dangerous, Oliver," Felicity pointed out. "If Diggle isn't in his right mind, he could get distracted, which would make him an easier target."

"Lawton only kills those he's been hired to kill," Oliver pointed out. "He's a mercenary, as you said, and he doesn't get his hands dirty unless he gets paid for it." Felicity nodded curtly as she once again spun around in her chair, starting a search. "What are you doing now?" Oliver asked.

"I'm looking for other cases where Curare has been used to kill victims," Felicity explained. "I figured that if I cross reference the cases, I might be able to see another pattern. I think it's likely that Lawton has been in town before, especially since Starling City had such an established elite within the People of Darkness. If I can find any clue, it might be able to help us find him now."

"That's..." Oliver trailed off, words like 'brilliant', 'genius' and 'amazing' all on his tongue, but he refused to sing Felicity any praises before she actually came up with something else.

"I'm doing this for, Diggle," Felicity said. "If he needs closure, I'm more than willing to help him."

Her fingers traveled across the keyboard so quickly that Oliver barely managed to keep up. Not only did she manage to type at a high speed without missing a letter, but she also managed to skim through reports and read them with record speed.

There was something nagging Oliver though.

While Felicity worked hard on figuring out where Lawton might be staying, he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to what Felicity knew about Lawton or not. She had seemed genuinely surprised to hear that they knew Lawton's real name and her explanation as to why _she_ knew Lawton's name had been vague, much like every other fact she let on about herself.

"Are you really doing this just for Diggle?" Oliver wondered out loud, making Felicity pause in her typing. She seemed to think about it before she sighed and continued writing, eyes never leaving the screen.

"Is it that hard for you to believe that I might actually be selfless and thinking about the well-being of my friend?" she asked him, still not turning around to look at him. In her tone he recognized something akin to defeat and he almost felt a little bad for questioning her out loud yet again. Diggle himself had told him multiple times to cut her some slack, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Diggle isn't your friend," he said, once again speaking to hurt her.

"I think that's up for him to decide, not you," she replied without missing a beat. "But if you really want to know, I think the world would be a better place without people like Lawton in it. Holder and Rasmussen might have been bad people, but they were human and could have been dealt with in another way. What Lawton is doing is just ruthless and I can't just sit here while he kills people who should have had a chance to defend themselves at least."

"And the people that Holder and Rasmussen killed? What about their right to defend themselves?" Oliver questioned, intrigued by what her answer to that might be.

"I told you: Holder and Rasmussen were bad people and I'm not defending their actions. I just think that it could have been dealt with in another way. I bet Lawton didn't even know that Rasmussen had a wife and three children," she said, her voice hollow. "Those three children will grow up without a father and no matter how bad he might have been, they will always feel that loss. _They_ are the innocent ones, Oliver. That's why I think mercenaries shouldn't exist. They don't question their jobs, they just do them, without thinking about the consequences."

He listened to her without saying a word and he understood what she meant. If it really was true that Holder, Rasmussen and the others she had listed earlier today were human, he would have to reevaluate the way he dealt with his list. He didn't want to take away the parents of innocent children without absolutely having to, which meant that he would now have to think twice before going after a new target.

There was something about the way Felicity had spoken that still made him wonder if there was more to the story. He had a feeling that she wasn't letting everything out yet, so he would continue to be wary about her _and_ Lawton. There might be something connecting the two of them and there was no way for him to find out without Felicity telling him the truth herself.

He let her continue her work without interrupting her again while he checked his phone for any messages from Diggle. His friend had been away for half an hour now and Oliver was beginning to get a bad feeling. It was getting late and even though he knew Diggle could protect himself against a potential attack against a Dark One, he also knew that Diggle wasn't exactly in his right mind at the moment and could get easily distracted.

"I got it," Felicity suddenly exclaimed, a laugh escaping her lips as she pumped her fist in the air. She turned and faced him and the moment her eyes met his, her grin faltered and her first dropped. "I don't usually get this excited about something, but, uhm..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "Either way, I found him. Or at least I think there's a high probability that I found him."

She picked up a map of Starling City and pointed at a certain location. "The last time there was an abundance of people killed with Curare in town, the majority of the deaths took place in this area. I basically assumed that Lawton would use a remote hotel or motel somewhere within this radius-" she moved her finger in a circle while pointing at the screen, "-and I found a place that would fit his MO according to the stories that were told on the street about him."

"Address?" Oliver asked, already heading for his bow and hood.

"_1700 Broadway_," Felicity replied, turning away as he got dressed. He almost smirked at her modesty, but managed to not do so. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Going after Lawton alone?"

"What do you suggest I do?" Oliver bit out, pulling his hood over his head.

"Call Diggle? Let me come with you?"

Her suggestions sounded innocent enough, but he shook his head, "And risk you ambushing me with Lawton's help? No thank you, I think I have a better shot at taking him out alone."

"Diggle should still know that we located Deadshot," Felicity argued. "Call him."

Without thinking, Oliver picked up and threw it her way. She grabbed it just before it crashed to the ground thanks to her inhuman speed. "You call him," he told her. "Let her know that we found Lawton and that I've gone after him, but don't tell him where. I'll handle it and give Diggle the closure he needs."

"Oliver, please wait," Felicity said, standing from her seat. With the blink of an eye, she blurred forward, standing less than two feet away from him. Her speed had surprised him, and he tightened his grip on his bow, preparing for an attack that never came. He blinked a couple of times, searching her face as she held up a small device. "Use the comm link, please? I can help you if you need me."

He watched the small item in her hand, contemplating if he should take it. It would be logical and it wasn't exactly as if it would be the first time he had Felicity in his ear since she joined them in the lair. Yet, he was stubborn and refused to admit that he might need her help.

He took half a step forward, passing the invisible line that separated his space from hers as he towered over her. Gaze dark and half covered by his hood, he spoke with venom dripping from every word, "I will _never_ need you."

Ignoring the hurt that flashed across Felicity's face, he turned his back to her and ran out out the Foundry and into the night, Lawton's potential hideout the only thing on his mind.

-§-

It turned out that Felicity had been right.

The hotel that she had given him the address to was indeed the place that Lawton was hiding out at and as soon as he had located the vampire's room and forced his way inside, Lawton had retaliated by shooting wildly around him and fighting him in hand to hand combat once out of bullets to fire at him.

Oliver wasn't used to a Dark One using armed weapons, since most of them relied on their strength alone, but Lawton sure was a curious figure. Even when he fought Oliver hand to hand, he didn't bare his fangs at him even _once_, which suggested that he had high control of his vampire side.

Vampires were the more sophisticated species among the People of Darkness. They didn't enjoy getting their hands dirty and usually used shapeshifters or werewolves who were considered lower-class in their society to do their bidding. Even among the vampires, there were different species; born vampires and made vampires.

The born vampires were also called _lamia_ vampires and those could age, much like humans and procreate amongst themselves. These families usually went back centuries and their place was high on the social ladder in the community of the Dark Ones. They showed more restraint than the made vampires, who were simple vampires who had been turned by either dying with vampire blood in their system or simple blood exchange with a vampire. The latter, the blood exchange, usually took a while and was uncommon among the monsters. From what Oliver had learned, the vampires liked to create new vampires quickly and as clean as possible, so it was a lot easier to just feed a human their blood and then kill them. The made vampires were more vicious, but even they could rise in the ranks, much like Frank Bertinelli had done by opening the Black Rose.

Lawton had the restraint of a lamia vampire, but Oliver couldn't know for sure if he truly was one. The only way to know for sure, would be if Lawton himself told him his story, or if Oliver managed to put a wooden arrowhead through the monster's heart, to see if he aged visibly before shriveling up, like Ashley had done when he had put her down.

Felicity had practically been running a supernatural trivia class in the Foundry, Diggle being her only _real _student. She explained a lot about the monster's that they hunted and gave them logical reasons for why some weapons worked and why some didn't. Oliver would never actually admit out loud that he listened in with interest, because he would hate it if Felicity actually found out that he thought her information was useful.

He came back to the lair without taking down Lawton, because the vampire had made a run for it and escaped into the night. The only thing Oliver managed to get a hold of, was a computer that had been shot through several times by Lawton when the monster had retaliated.

As soon as he had closed the door behind him when he entered the lair, Felicity sped forward to stand by the foot of the stairs, anxiously wringing her hands together. The sight confused him and he furrowed his eyebrows at her as he passed her.

Diggle was leaning casually against the med-bay, clearly waiting for Oliver to tell him what had happened.

"I found Lawton," Oliver said, unzipping his hood, "but he got away. I did manage to get a hold of his computer though." He held up the device and Felicity quickly blurred over to him, taking it from his hands, eyes wide.

"What did you do to it?" she gaped, looking over the holes in the piece of technology.

"Spilled a latte on it," Oliver sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes at the blonde.

She shot him a glare and shook her head, "You _massacred_ it."

"To be fair, it was Lawton that shot it," Oliver deadpanned. "Can you salvage any information from it? It might give us a hint to why Lawton is in town and who his next target is." He looked over at Diggle, who still hadn't spoken. "How are you doing, Dig?"

"I would have been a lot better if you had called me yourself and let me tag along," Diggle told him. "Maybe then Lawton wouldn't have gotten away."

"He's still in town, Dig," Oliver sighed.

"Yeah, and now he knows that the Hood is hot on his trail," Diggle glared. "You should have had backup. Things could have gone wrong, Oliver, but you never seem to take that into consideration. You just _act_."

"I'm _fine_, Diggle," Oliver insisted.

"Yeah, but next time, you might not be," Diggle pointed out. "What if next time, you end up like that computer? What am I supposed to do if you don't even wear your comm just because it gets in the way of your pride?"

Oliver knew that he had made a mistake, but he couldn't very well go back in time and change it now. What was done and he told Diggle as much.

"The only thing we can do now is try to see if we can get any information off of that computer," Oliver said. "I'm sorry for not calling you, Dig."

Diggle shook his head at him, "I'm just glad that you came back in one piece. We'll get Lawton next time."

Oliver nodded curtly at Diggle, glad that the issue was settled for the moment. He turned to look over at Felicity who was connecting Lawton's computer with the computers in the lair, once again typing furiously. Sighing one last time, Oliver went to change, wondering if he should actually apologize to Felicity too for completely neglecting her the way he had. He decided to not say anything to her. Instead, he changed and suggested to Diggle that they spar while Felicity worked the computer.

An hour later, Felicity called them over to her workstation.

"What do you have, Felicity?" Diggle asked, looking over her shoulder at the screen.

"Not much," Felicity admitted bitterly. "The bullets completely killed the poor computer, but I do think I found something important." She clicked on a few buttons and opened a window on the screen.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at it, "It looks like blueprints."

"Do you know of what?" Diggle asked, not seeing a name anywhere on the prints.

"The Exchange Building," Felicity said.

"Why would Lawton have this?" Oliver frowned.

"It's where the Unidac Industries auction is scheduled to take place tomorrow night," Felicity explained. "Carl Rasmussen and James Holder were two of the people that were bidding. I bet if we look up Deadshot's other victims, they too have something to do with the auction."

"He's taking out the competition for someone," Oliver realized. "Who-?" he started to ask, but Felicity interrupted.

"Warren Patel," she said. "I was able to trace back the computer to his company. Patel must have hired Lawton to take out his competition before the auction takes place."

"So now we can assemble a potential list of targets," Diggle pointed out. "That's some good work, Felicity."

"Thank you, Dig," Felicity smiled before turning to Oliver. Her smile dropped as she met his eyes and she turned serious again. "Is this a bad time to point out that your stepfather is planning on bidding?"

Oliver sighed, cursing himself for forgetting that Walter and the rest of his family, including himself were supposed to attend the auction tomorrow night. "My family will be there tomorrow and so will Laurel and Tommy," he said, looking at Diggle. "How big do you think the risk is that Lawton will be targeting Walter tomorrow?"

"His next target can be anyone that's bidding, with the exception of Patel," Felicity pointed out. "Do you think there's any way for us to get Walter to back away from this deal?"

"Hardly," Oliver said. "You told me yourself how hard he's had you working on preparing for this auction. There's no way that he'll back away now."

"Felicity, bring back the blueprints," Diggle instructed and Felicity immediately accommodated. Diggle pointed at the screen, "The Exchange Building is surrounded by three towers with eye lines into the building. Lawton could get a kill shot off from virtually _anywhere_."

Quietly, they contemplated what Diggle had said. Felicity was the first one to speak after two minutes of solid silence. "Is there anyone you can ask for help? Even if the _three_ of us attend this thing, we won't be able to protect everyone there. Sure, your family would be covered, but everyone else..." she trailed off, allowing them to fill in the rest of the sentence for themselves.

"Detective Lance," Oliver spoke after a while. "The police force could raise the security for the auction if they got a tip."

"Lance hates your guts," Diggle pointed out. "Both Oliver Queen and the Hood. Why would he listen to you?"

"He wouldn't have a choice," Oliver said. "No matter how much he hates the Hood, he wouldn't risk the lives of innocent people."

"Excuse me, but who exactly is Detective Lance?" Felicity piped up.

"The detective that has been hunting me for two years," Oliver replied dismissively.

"He's also the father of Oliver's ex-girlfriend," Diggle said.

"Wait, so he's the father of that girl that was with you on the boat too? I read about that when I researched you after I found out you were the vigilante," Felicity said.

Oliver actually flinched, hating to be reminded of his past mistakes. The fact that Felicity had researched him before contacting him didn't escape his attention, but he didn't comment on the matter.

Instead he thought about Detective Lance.

Detective Quentin Lance was the father of Laurel and Sara Lance. He was one of the few cops in Starling City that hunted him without actually knowing the whole truth. Oliver still couldn't understand how the police chief had managed to keep the information about the Hood's killings secret from the detective, but Lance seemed to believe that the vigilante was killing innocent people.

It was clear that the police chief was keeping Lance in the dark, always making up stories about why the 'victims' looked like they did. Lance was one of the good ones and it was probably because of his high moral standards that he was being kept out of the loop on the Dark Ones.

Oliver himself had encountered Lance a few times since he had returned from the dead. Lance had accused him of being the vigilante at one time, but with Diggle's help, Oliver had managed to clear his name. Lance hated Oliver with every fiber of his being and still blamed Oliver for the death of his youngest daughter, Sara.

_Sara._

The memories flashed before his eyes and he felt that horrible sting of guilt and grief that he felt every single time someone reminded him of what pain he had caused the Lance family. If he could somehow go back in time, he would do a lot of things differently, but there was no going back.

"Do you agree, Oliver?" Diggle asked, forcing him back to reality.

"On what?" he asked, still a little dazed from where his thoughts had gone.

"The three of us being at the auction while you convince Lance to put in extra security on the surrounding buildings?" Diggle explained.

"The three of us?" Oliver frowned, looking down at Felicity. "And how is _she _supposed to fit into the mix?"

"Didn't you hear _anything_ of what we said?" Felicity glared at him. "Diggle will be there as your bodyguard, but since you clearly don't need one, he'll actually be keeping an eye on your mother and your sister."

"That still doesn't explain why _you_ have to be there," Oliver almost growled in annoyance.

"I helped Walter prepare for the auction and I'm supposed to be your assistant," she replied calmly.

"But you still don't have an invitation," Oliver narrowed his eyes at her.

A slight blush crept up her cheeks and Oliver turned to Diggle, who smirked at him before speaking.

"But _you_ have a _plus one_."

-§-

Felicity was _fidgeting_ next to him as Diggle drove them to the Exchange Building. Oliver was trying incredibly hard not to look at her, hating the stupid plan that she and Diggle had basically forced upon him.

Oliver had argued long and hard for Felicity to _not_ attend the auction at all, but unfortunately, Diggle and Felicity had ganged up on him, basing their arguments in Felicity's ability to pick up sounds before any of them did, thus giving her an advantage if Lawton fired against them.

So now, here he was: sitting next to a dressed up Felicity, on his way to an auction with her as his date.

On a more positive note, he had managed to get Detective Lance to send in extra security for the event, which made him feel at least a little bit more relaxed, but not by much.

"Will you _stop _moving around?" Oliver growled at Felicity, who froze in her seat beside him.

"Sorry, but I'm trying to figure out a way to do something without you seeing me," she shot at him, just as bitterly.

"Do what?" Oliver frowned, looking at her suspiciously.

Felicity's eyes flickered over to meet Diggle's in the rear-view mirror.

"It's alright, Felicity," Diggle told her. "You don't have to hide it."

Felicity sighed deeply before reaching down under the seat and bringing up a blood bag of O-negative. Oliver raised his eyebrow at her as she blushed, "It's for extra strength. I know I told you that I don't have to drink blood to survive, but drinking it works like an energy drink. My vampire side is enhanced and I can react faster and hear much better. We thought it would be okay to make an exception tonight."

Oliver watched her with disgust as she pierced the bag with her fangs and began emptying its contents. "_We?_" he wondered, narrowing his eyes at Diggle.

"It's a blood bag, Oliver," the older man sighed. "She hasn't killed anyone for it."

"But what if the blood makes her irrational? What if she's gone without it for so long that she suddenly starts craving it and kills everyone on the auction," he snapped, raising his voice.

"Why do you always have to be so negative?" Felicity frowned at him after finishing the bag. She licked her lips and put the bag back under the seat. She took out a compact mirror from her clutch and checked her teeth as if to make sure that they weren't stained with blood. Oliver felt sick at the sight.

She turned to face him again and grinned, her eyes getting that golden hue for a millisecond, "Have some faith."

Oliver didn't reply, because they had finally arrived at their destination. He looked over at Felicity who slipped off the coat she had been wearing, now finally revealing the red dress she wore underneath. She put the little mirror back in her bag before looking back at him, bright blue eyes glistening with an innocence that he knew wasn't there.

"Well? Are we going to sit in here all night or are we going to make sure that your family is safe?" she wondered.

He shot her one last glare before opening the door to the limousine, grabbing her hand roughly as he pulled at her a little to exit the car. Flashes of the paparazzi's cameras blinded him as he put on his playboy smile, grinning at the crowd that had been expecting them.

Ignoring the tingles that went through his hand as he wrapped his arm around Felicity's waist, pulling him closer into his side, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "We need to get inside before you end up on the front page of every magazine in town."

She squeezed his arm, looking up at him with a smile on her lips as she whispered back, "Don't worry, I'll hack them and erase all evidence of my existence."

-§-

Oliver watched as Felicity as she easily slipped into the role of his assistant, mingling with the crowd, talking casually about everyday topics and impressing the potential bidders with her brilliance.

He sipped on his champagne, trying desperately to keep his annoyance at the hybrid at bay as he watched her wrap all the men in the room around her little finger.

"I noticed you invited Felicity as your plus one," Thea spoke up from behind him, making him turn around and force a smile.

"She mentioned that she didn't have anything better to do and I didn't want to come here alone," Oliver quickly made up on the spot. "I mean, God forbid that Oliver Queen attends an event without a pretty girl on his arm."

"Oh, so you admit that she's pretty then?" Thea teased, nudging his side lightly. "I'll make sure to pass that on to her."

"It was a figure of speech," Oliver glared at his sister before turning his attention back at Felicity.

The red dress that she was wearing clung to her body perfectly. The bodice was a little tighter, with a sweetheart neckline that made her neck look exquisitely long and elegant. The rest of the material flowed out a little at her hips, but it seemed so incredibly soft that as she walked, she almost looked as if she was floating on air, the fabric moving around her legs. Around her neck, she had a simple diamond necklace that Oliver had forced her to wear. The little stone had been embedded with a tracker because he didn't want to risk her running out on him and Diggle if she suddenly decided to jump ships and join Lawton instead. According to Diggle, he was being paranoid and rude, but Felicity agreed to wear the necklace, if only to ensure that he would be able to feel a little more relaxed.

"Then why do you keep staring at her?" Thea smiled at him.

"I'm just keeping an eye on her," he said, being truthful for the first time in forever. "I don't want her to get into trouble."

"I don't think anything remotely exciting will happen here tonight," Thea rolled her eyes. "I'm only here for Walter."

"One can never be too careful," Oliver muttered, watching as his mother and Walter approached Felicity. He took that as his cue as he left Thea briefly to join his _fake_ date.

"Oliver," his mother beamed at him, leaning over to press a light kiss to his cheek.

"Mother," he smiled back. "Walter," he shook the man's hand before securely resting his hand on Felicity's lower back.

"We didn't know that you had invited _Felicity_ as your plus one," Moira stated, trying to sound polite. Oliver though could hear that she didn't like the idea of him having Felicity accompany him to the auction, and Felicity herself probably heard it too because unconsciously, she moved just a little bit closer to him.

"It was sort of a last minute thing," Felicity explained.

"Well, I think it's lovely to have you here for support, Felicity," Walter smiled at her. "You two enjoy your evening and for God's sake, don't forget to dance. If we play this right, we might gain another asset tonight!"

Felicity giggled nervously as Walter led away Oliver's mother, who shot yet another warning look at Oliver.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that your mother hates me more than you do," Felicity stated.

Oliver rolled his eyes and reached for two champagne flutes when a waiter passed them by, handing one of them to Felicity. "Don't worry, Felicity," he told her. "I think I still have the honor of having that title."

"Mhm..." Felicity hummed absentmindedly as she looked up into his eyes. She sipped on the champagne he had given her without saying another word and Oliver once again felt those pesky little feelings bubble inside of him.

He would be blind to say that Felicity wasn't a beauty and he would be lying if he said that he _hadn't_ noticed how wonderfully her dress clung to her body. Still, he would probably deny it with his dying breath that he actually found the hybrid somewhat attractive, but he couldn't allow himself to get distracted.

"Still to the plan, Smoak," he told her. "You keep an ear open and an eye on Walter and my mother while Diggle watched Thea from afar. I'll keep an eye on them as well as keep an eye on _you._"

"In that case, I hope you're as good as me at multitasking," she quipped, _winking_ at him before she stepped away from him.

He watched her as she walked, hating the way his stomach tightened at the sight of her hips swaying, almost sinfully.

-§-

Felicity had been walking around casually in the room while listening intently to her surroundings. Heartbeats and the sounds of police officers at their stations were filling her head and she had to close her eyes for a minute to try and concentrate on hearing anything that was out of the ordinary.

Nothing.

There had been no sign whatsoever of Lawton and Felicity was beginning to wonder if there was a possibility that she had been wrong about her findings and deductions. She looked around the room, bored out of her mind when suddenly someone approached her. For a moment she froze and looked around the room, trying to locate Oliver in case the person approaching turned out to be Lawton or something. Then, she relaxed when she recognized the face that she had looked up after Oliver had left the lair the night before.

"Detective Lance," Felicity spoke without thinking, making the man halt in his steps.

"Do I know you?" the detective asked, his voice rough.

"I'm Felicity Smoak," she said, extending her hand for him to shake. "I work for Mr. Queen," the detective's eyes darkened, "which I now realize I probably shouldn't have led with. I, uhm, _read_ about what happened to your daughter and I'm really sorry for your loss... Even if it happened seven years ago, so you probably don't want me to bring it up... Sorry," Felicity flinched.

The detective eyes her for a moment, blinking a couple of times. It was clear that he didn't know how to react to her ramble, but he still shook her hand.

"You work for Queen?" he asked and she nodded.

"I'm his Executive Assistant," Felicity smiled.

"Sounds like a fancy word for 'secretary,'" Lance snorted. "And I'm guessing that he brought you here tonight?"

"We're friends," Felicity said quickly. "But that isn't why you approached me, is it? Is everything alright?"

The detective eyed her suspiciously for a moment, "We got a tip from someone that something might be going down here tonight. I was just making rounds when you stopped me from walking past you."

Felicity felt a blush rising on her face, "Oh. Well, that sounds interesting."

Lance's lip twitched as he looked at her, but he didn't move to walk away yet.

"I heard that you were assigned the vigilante case," Felicity said casually. "How is that going for you?"

"Are you mocking me, Ms. Smoak?" Quentin asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh," Felicity's eyes widened. "No! Not at all! I was just trying to make conversation, but apparently I'm only able to do so by insulting you."

A low chuckle escaped the detective and Felicity prided herself in breaking through his defense.

"It's hard to believe that someone like you keeps up with vigilante news," he pointed out.

"Should I be taking _that_ as an insult?" Felicity grinned.

"You decide that for yourself," Quentin said. "Why so interested in the vigilante? He's a dangerous criminal that needs to be apprehended. Not someone that you should be worrying about."

"I don't think he's dangerous," Felicity said thoughtfully.

"He's a murderer," Lance pointed out.

"He's saved a lot of people too though, hasn't he?" Felicity challenged. She was talking of the few cases that Oliver had helped solve, thus saving innocent people from being wrongfully imprisoned. They were a rare occasion, but Diggle had told her that Oliver helped out his ex-girlfriend Laurel from time to time with cases because he still had a soft spot for her.

"That doesn't make up for the bad things he has done," Quentin said bitterly.

Felicity hated that she wasn't allowed to tell Lance the truth. If he knew that Oliver- the Hood- was actually saving innocent people all the time by killing the murderous monster's that prowled the streets, he surely would see things differently.

"I still believe that the vigilante is capable of doing a lot of good," Felicity said. "My interest in him is purely because he's a mystery that I can't seem to solve, but from what I've read and heard, there is good in him too, even though he's killed people. He must be sacrificing a hell of a lot of his own life in order to be so devoted, and I know that even you detective can't say that the crime rate hasn't dropped drastically since he came to town."

"You seem to know an awful lot about the Hood, Ms. Smoak," the detective narrowed his eyes at her.

"I don't know anything about him," Felicity said calmly. "I'm just telling you what I see every time I read about the good things he has done for this city. The people he's been taking down have all been bad, Detective. Doesn't that essentially make him _good?_"

The detective stood there, taken aback by her words. He gave her a once over before his eyes shifted to something behind her and she turned around just in time to see Oliver approaching, fake smile in place.

"Detective," he nodded, once again resting his hand on her hip. Why did his touch seem to _burn_ her? It was as if every nerve cell on the area that he touched was set on fire and she knew that she shouldn't be feeling that way about him, especially not since he hated her.

"Queen," Lance spat, anger bubbling up in his tone.

"Would you mind excusing Ms. Smoak for a moment? I believe I owe my date a dance," Oliver said casually. Felicity looked up at him, startled.

Sure, Walter had suggested that they dance, but never in her immortal life would she have believed that Oliver would actually _do it_ with her. She scolded herself for the sudden trail of thoughts that made its way into her brain and the vivid images of Oliver doing something else entirely with her that invaded her mind.

Oliver tugged lightly on her, forcing her to turn her back to the detective before she could even say goodbye.

"Ms. Smoak?" the detective called after her and she forced Oliver to stop moving.

"Yes, Detective?" she called back.

Ignoring that Oliver was standing right beside her, the detective spoke, "Don't allow yourself to get attached to Mr. Queen. You don't know how bad he could be for you."

Felicity felt Oliver tense beside her, but she only smiled back at the detective. "Don't worry, Detective Lance. I know just how dangerous Oliver can be."

With that, she turned her back to Quentin and allowed Oliver to lead her out on the dance floor.

-§-

Oliver rested his hand lightly on Felicity's waist, trying hard to ignore the currents that spread through him when she put one of her hands on his shoulder and he took a hold of her other one.

He hadn't liked seeing her talk to the detective, and he had to admit that he had been worried that she might slip up somehow in front of Lance when he had decided to approach them.

He had been conversing casually with Tommy and Laurel, who had arrived a little late to the auction, before making his rounds and checking up on Thea and the rest of his family. Diggle had made sure to tell him that he had an eye on the other Queen's and that he shouldn't worry about them, but worry about the people he loved was something that Oliver did the best.

When he had walked toward Felicity and Lance, he had overheard part of the conversation between them.

Why had Felicity defended the Hood- _him-_ in front of Lance? What could she possibly gain by making him out to be some kind of _hero_? Had she known he could hear her? Was she trying to trick him into believing her?

There was only one way to find out.

"I heard what you told the detective," he informed her as they swayed lightly to the music that was floating around them. His words had come out a lot calmer than he had expected them to. "You were defending me... _Why?_"

Felicity looked up at him and pursed her lips, rolling her eyes, "Contrary to what you may think, I don't actually hate you."

"It's hard to believe you," he said, twirling her around once before drawing her in closer again, "especially since _your kind_ have a knack for tricking people."

"I think you have hybrids confused with fox spirits, which don't actually exist," she teased lightly before turning serious. "I contacted you because I genuinely believe that you can save this city, Oliver."

"And yet, you still haven't told us _why_ you contacted us," he said, his grip tightening ever so lightly on her hip. She didn't seem too bothered by it though.

"I will, soon," she promised. He nodded curtly as he kept swaying them back and forth on the dance floor.

There weren't a lot of people dancing, but they weren't the only ones. He was too distracted by the way Felicity's body felt this close to him to actually notice the people around them and he was starting to realize just how thin the ice he was treading on was.

"You say that you don't hate me," he said, "even though I have given you plenty of reasons to do so?" It was stated as a question and Felicity seemed to contemplate it for a moment.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth and Oliver fought the sudden urge he had to capture it with his own as he waited for her to reply.

"To be honest," she sighed, "you annoy the crap out of me from time to time, but I still feel like I can trust you..." she trailed off, looking up at him with those baby blue eyes, all innocent again. "Why is that?"

"I don't know," Oliver replied, "maybe you have a death wish?"

Her face visibly fell at his words, "Maybe..." She looked away from him and he felt a pang of something inside his chest: _regret_.

"I didn't-" he cut himself off abruptly when he realized that he had been about to apologize and say that he hadn't meant it. Why should he feel sorry for hurting her, when all _her kind_ ever did was hurt people?

"It's okay," she told him, squeezing his shoulder lightly, almost as if she had read his mind. "I understand that you still don't trust me, and it's okay. I'll win you over sooner or later," she smiled. "I'm charming like that."

With those words she removed her hand from his grip and instead wrapped both arms around his neck, forcing him to in turn rest both of his on her waist as they kept swaying softly. Next, she did something even more unexpected. She leaned against him and rested her head against his chest, right over his heartbeat. For some reason, he couldn't help the small smile that her comment had evoked and he allowed himself to let go of his anger at the Nightcrawlers just for a moment, knowing that she couldn't see the grin on his face.

Everything seemed to be okay for a while as they danced. He was still feeling warm because of the close proximity to Felicity and he had to force his brain into focusing on anything other than how she seemed to perfectly fit against his body. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that Felicity was human and he could imagine what it would have been like to have known her before the Island.

Everything was fine for a while, until Felicity tensed in his arms and stopped moving.

With her head still resting against his chest, she spoke in a whisper, "I know you can hear me, Lawton."

-§-

For the first time in over a month, Felicity found herself having fun.

Sure, Oliver was being kind of rude to her, but at the same time, his quips held a hint of humor and a teasing tone. She wasn't sure he was aware of the way he sounded though, but it still felt nice to hear him talking to her without all the hostility.

He had seemed genuinely surprised that Felicity would defend his vigilantism and she wondered whether it was because she had defended his mission to kill the Dark Ones or if no one except for Diggle had believed in him before.

Either way, as they swayed slowly to the music, Felicity felt somewhat at peace. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, allowing her hybrid hearing to work more effectively. For a while she concentrated on Oliver's heartbeat, surprised to hear that it had sped up slightly since they started dancing. She decided to blame it on him being nervous about Lawton and worried about his family, because there was no chance that it had anything to do with _her_.

She cut out the sound of his beating heart and the people who were talking around them, the music disappeared as she concentrated and soon she was able to hear what was happening on the streets outside. Cars honking and speeding through the night, but they didn't matter. If Lawton was somewhere in the surrounding area, he would be up high so that he would be able to get in a kill shot. She was glad that Diggle had agreed to let her drink blood tonight, because it enhanced her hearing several times over. If she focused hard enough, she might actually be able to hear the music from Verdant; that was how much a good bag of blood affected her hybrid powers.

Then she heard it, the sound of a sniper rifle getting loaded.

Felicity froze in Oliver's arms, taking a deep breath before she spoke, "I know you can hear me, Lawton."

Oliver's grip on her hips tightened a little as he drew his head back so that he could look down at her, but she only looked into his eyes and kept talking.

"Where are you?" she whispered. Oliver cocked an eyebrow at her but she shook her head in such a small movement that it was barely visible. If she was going to try to get to Lawton, she needed to be able to mumble and if she was supposed to do so, she would rather not seem crazy to the people around them. So, it would make sense that she used Oliver and faked talking to him in hushed tones.

She tried her best to focus again and when she did, she heard a low chuckle in her ear, "_Well, this was unexpected._"

"Where are you?" she murmured back, leaning her head against Oliver's chest again under the pretense of saying something to him. "Which roof are you on?"

"_What's your name Sweetheart?_" Lawton asked, clearly amused for some reason.

"Does it matter? I know you're in one of the surrounding buildings, which means that I can blow your cover whenever I want," Felicity coldly replied.

She could hear a sharp intake of breath, "_Ah, Ms. Smoak, I see. I would recognize your scent anywhere..._"

Felicity froze again. "How do you know my scent?" she frowned.

"_They tried to hire me __for _you_, Ms. Smoak,_" Lawton said, catching her off guard. She took a deep breath of air, feeling Oliver's arms to tighten around her and she understood him. He wanted to know what was going on, but he couldn't make a move. "_They made me visit that cell you were locked up in and even went as far as to shove one of your bloodied shirts into my face._"

"Why are you telling me this?" Felicity asked, her voice shaking.

"_There's a price on your head, Ms. Smoak. I figured you would want to know,_" Lawton replied, still as calm as ever. "_Although, if you managed to get away from your Sire and stay hidden for so long, there's one thing I don't understand._"

"What is that?"

"_Why are you in the arms of Oliver Queen?_" Lawton inquired. "_You don't strike me as a girl who goes after the rich ones._"

"I have compelled him_,_" she lied through her teeth. "I'm just using him to have some fun. I was tired of being locked up."

Compulsion was something that was unusual among the Dark Ones. Some lamia vampires were known to be able to control humans through their brainwashing, but the power seemed to be limited to only the oldest ones. In very few cases, depending on how they were turned, hybrids could compel humans as well. Of course, it was a long shot and she doubted that Lawton would believe that she was one of the lucky ones who had inherited the power.

A chuckle rang through her ear and she had a hard time concentrating on Lawton because there was a commotion on the floor below them, "_Maybe I was wrong about you._"

"Did you take the job?" she wondered finally.

"_I told them to shove the shirt where the sun don't shine, Sweetheart,_" Lawton replied, once again managing to shock her into silence. "_I may be a lamia crook, but I don't go after girls who in my eyes haven't done anything wrong; no matter the price._"

Why wouldn't he take the hit? If the man who had turned her and his people had wanted to catch her and were willing to pay a high price for her capture, then why would a mercenary like Floyd Lawton not take the opportunity to do it for them? Somehow, Felicity got the feeling that there was more to this lamia vampire than she had previously thought...

"And the other people you've killed? Rasmussen and the others? What about them?" Felicity demanded, her hearing not as good as it had been a moment earlier. She was loosing the extra power she had gained by drinking the blood earlier; she was getting tired. "Who are you going to kill tonight?"

"_Why don't you look around for a bit?_" Lawton suggested. "_I have my eyes set on them and I'll be taking the shot in ten seconds._"

Without thinking, Felicity pushed herself out of Oliver's arms, startling him as she frantically twisted and turned, trying to find the target.

"Felicity?" Oliver asked, instantly on alert.

"Seven seconds," was all she told him and his face dropped. Felicity looked past his shoulder, to Walter and Thea who were talking on the other side of the room, when she saw it. The small red light was moving between Thea and Walter and the only thing Felicity could do was act.

She ran forward, as quickly as her human speed would allow her. In her ear, she heard the _click_ of the trigger being pressed and she didn't care whether or not anyone saw her, because she finally sped up in hybrid speed. She managed to get to Thea and Walter and push them to the ground, just as the window broke and all hell broke loose.

-§-

Felicity sat on the med-bay looking over the place in her side where Lawton's bullet had grazed her. The suit jacket that Oliver had given her to cover herself up when she had been questioned by the police laid discarded next to her as she for the hundredth time went over the things that had happened after she had pushed Walter and Thea out of the way.

Lawton's bullet had grazed her side, for one, but she had barely felt it due to the rush of adrenaline. All she had been able to think about was getting Thea and Walter out of there safe, so when Oliver had pushed himself through the crowd and over to them, she had never felt more relieved.

She remembered how Oliver's hand had rested briefly on her shoulder and how he had looked down at her side, seeing that she had been hit. Blood had soaked her red dress, turning it into a darker color but she had felt herself already healing. Instead of saying anything, he had quickly dropped his suit jacket over her shoulders, silently telling her to cover up and then told her to get Thea out. He disappeared from her view and it wasn't until later that Felicity would learn that he had changed into his hood and gone after Lawton together with Diggle.

It had been too late though, because Lawton had managed to escape just before they got to him. The police, mainly Detective Lance, had questioned her on how she had been able to know that the shooter was aiming for Mr. Steele. She just told them that she had seen the red light and that she had watched too many cop-shows to know what that meant, especially with the high security level on the auction.

Thea had approached her soon after, thanking her for saving both her life and Walter's.

"I knew you were special," the younger Queen sibling had told her, right before inviting her to her birthday bash that would be taking place in two weeks time. Felicity had met Oliver's eyes and she had seen that he wasn't too happy about the invitation she had gotten, so she had begun to decline when Walter had stepped in and told her that she _had_ to come. Reluctantly, she had agreed.

Moira had watched the exchange and she had just thanked Felicity for saving Walter and Thea before telling them that they should all go home. There was something about the way that Moira had spoken that made Felicity believe that the woman couldn't wait to get as far away from the Exchange Building as possible. She couldn't really blame her, but at the same time, Felicity wondered if there could be another reason for the older woman's uneasiness.

"Felicity," Diggle said, bringing her out of her deep thoughts.

"Hmm?" Felicity hummed, raising her eyebrows as she looked over at her friend. Oliver was standing next to Diggle with his arms crossed over his chest, but he didn't speak, only looked at her with an unreadable look on his face.

"_We_ wanted to thank you," Diggle told her, giving a pointed look at Oliver, who kept staring at her, not looking away from her face.

"Why? We failed," she said. "_I_ failed. If I had just managed to locate Lawton sooner, if I hadn't been talking to Lance or the other people in the room, I might have been able to track him down and-"

"Felicity," Oliver interrupted, his tone sharp as ever as he effectively cut off her ramble.

She looked down at her hands in her lap, hating how her face heated up and how she couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes.

"This was the first time we have ever been able to get a trace of Lawton," Diggle said calmly, "and we wouldn't have been able to do it without _you_."

"I'm sorry that you didn't get him, Dig," she confessed. "Your brother..."

"We'll get him next time," Diggle promised, walking up to her before he put his hand on her shoulder. Her mind went to earlier tonight when Oliver had touched her shoulder and she couldn't help but think how different the two touches were. "Until then, you should be proud of what you did tonight. You saved Thea and Walter, and probably everyone else in that room. You got shot doing so."

"It was just a graze," Felicity blushed. "And the Curare won't kill me. It's already healed."

"Still," Diggle said. "We owe you a big thank you and we appreciate everything you did tonight."

She glanced over at Oliver who was still intently staring at her. He hadn't spoken a word since he had said her name and she wanted to know what was going through his mind.

"I'm heading home and you should get some rest too," Diggle sighed. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead and she closed her eyes, feeling _safe_. With one last squeeze on her shoulder and one last look in Oliver's direction, Diggle got his jacket and got out of the lair, leaving Felicity alone with Oliver.

They stared at each other for a moment and she could tell that he was torn. He hated her, but he couldn't deny that she had saved both his sister's and his stepfather's life tonight. Wordlessly, Oliver turned around and headed over to the small fridge he had installed. He opened it and took something out before walking over to her hesitantly.

He put the item he had retrieved in her hand and looked into her eyes intently, "Good night, Felicity."

With those words, he walked away from her and out of the lair. She let out a small breath that she hadn't known she had been holding and looked down at the blood-bag he had given her. What could it mean? Was it some kind of a sign that they were heading for a truce? Why would he give her a blood-bag, when she knew how disgusted he had been with her earlier that night for drinking the red liquid?

Was it a test?

Felicity looked at the bag in her hands, wondering whether or not she should drink it. It would make her feel stronger and heighten her abilities, but would she be needing that any time soon?

Her mind traveled to what Lawton had said to her tonight. There was a price on her head and her enemies might be coming after her. Her time was slowly running out and if the blood-bag was any kind of sign, she might be starting to earn Oliver's trust. She had to tell him what she knew about the People of Darkness and their plans for the city, but she _needed_ to earn his trust first.

Sighing deeply, Felicity opened the bag of blood and put it to her lips. If the man who was responsible for turning her was still looking for her and was willing to hire people like Lawton to get to her, she needed to be prepared. She needed to be able to fight them and protect the people she had begun to care about.

So tonight, Felicity drank.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Oooooh! Oliver GAVE Felicity a blood bag, despite being 'disgusted' about it all! And Thea joined the story officially and so did Laurel and Tommy! There will obviously be more Tommy in the upcoming chapters, but you'll just have to wait a little! ;)<strong>

**Since this chapter was so long, I'll see if I'll be able to write the next one this week because I have some school work that needs to get done too. If I don't manage to finish the next chapter in time, I hope you'll understand, but please: Do give me that special push by leaving a comment! :)**

**Oh, and BTW (haha, to those who saw the premiere), tell me what your FAVORITE part of this chapter was AND what you're looking forward to seeing happen next! :D**

**Thank you for reading! :) xx**


	8. The Birthday

**Note: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! :D**

**I'm sorry for the delay on this one, but those of you who follow me on tumblr know that I've had a lot of school work this week that hasn't been letting me write. This chapter might be a little shorter than the last one, but it passed 12k so it's still long in my mind ^^**

**Either way, I just wanted to say that there's another dream in this chapter that is *cough cough* a little naughty... (Still toying with the idea of raising the rating...)**

**Now, please enjoy the new chapter of Hunted! =)**

**Oh and I haven't proof read the chapter as well as I would have liked to, so if you see any HUGE mistakes, feel free to tell me and I apologize for them! =)**

**P.S. It'll be my birthday tomorrow (24th of October), so please make me extra happy with a nice comment in the end! :)**

**Thank you for reading and supporting!**

* * *

><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

**Chapter ****8****: The ****Birthday**

* * *

><p>The days that followed the Unidac auction were confusing for Oliver, to say the least.<p>

When he had gone home that night after giving Felicity the blood bag, he kept questioning his own sanity. He knew that his walls were slowly breaking when it came to the hybrid, but he was still too proud to admit it to her or Diggle. What she had done that night, for Walter and for Thea...it had been an amazing, albeit slightly _horrifying_ display of power. It terrified him to know that Felicity's powers had been so enhanced by a single bag of blood, but yet, he hadn't been able to stop himself from giving her the bag before he had left her. He had seen her fight Diggle on the training mats several times already and he knew that it wouldn't take much of her effort to overthrow both him and his partner if she wanted to escape. Still, he had given her the one thing that would make her even more powerful against them.

He had tried fighting it, so hard the first few days after the auction. He had tried to remain crass with Felicity and not show her that his resolve was breaking. Neither of them had mentioned the blood bag again and Diggle hadn't tried suggesting that Felicity should take in any more blood since the event.

Instead, Oliver found himself leaving a cup filled with blood every other day on Felicity's desk as she worked on her computers (because he had also began accepting that they were, in fact, _hers_). She never questioned his decision to give her that little sign of gratitude for saving his sister and his stepfather and every day that Oliver walked down the steps to get her so they could drive to work together, he saw the mug, clean and drying by one of the small cabinets.

He was not ready to start trusting her fully yet though, because a part of him still wasn't sure what had gone down the night of the auction. He remembered swaying with her in his arms as they danced across the floor, right before she tensed and started muttering and whispering under her breath. It bothered him that he didn't know what she and Lawton had talked about and a part of him _needed_ to know what had gone down between her and the lamia vampire when he hadn't been able to hear.

She had tried explaining to him and Diggle that Lawton had literally '_just talked_' to her and Diggle had for some reason been happy to drop the conversation, sensing that Felicity was reluctant to let them know more. Oliver has naturally sensed her reluctance too, but that only made him want to know what the conversation had been about even more.

Some nights he wondered if Felicity had told Diggle about her talk with the sniper. It was no secret that his partner and the hybrid were closer to being friends than Oliver and she were. After all, at times, Oliver still tried to make himself believe that he hated her.

A week after the auction, Oliver had had about enough of it. It was a rare thing for him and Felicity to be alone down in the lair, but Diggle had gone to get some burgers and Oliver hadn't been able to help himself when he had asked Felicity why she had told Lawton that she was compelling him.

"Can you do that?" he has asked, his voice worried but at the same time hinting at a bit of annoyance. "Control people's minds and make them do you bidding?"

It was a rare power among the Dark Ones, but he had come across it a time or two during the time that he had worked his way up the ranks of the _Solntsevskaya Bratva_ in Russia during his five years away. There he had seen and learned a lot of things about the People of Darkness and he had seen even the strongest of men crumble when a lamia vampire had forced their minds to cooperate.

"I had to lie to him, Oliver," Felicity had replied. "I swear that I don't have compulsion powers, but I couldn't risk him telling anyone that you were helping me. What if someone connected the dots and figured out you were the vigilante?"

Her explanation had made sense and he had gotten one of the strangest sensations in his stomach when she had once again proceeded to protect him and his secret identity.

"How can I be sure?" he had questioned anyway, and the answer he had needed had been written on her face when she had answered him.

"I would _never _use that kind of power, Oliver," she had told him, her voice trembling slightly. "The thought of stripping away someones willpower and taking away their _choice_-"

"Okay," he had interrupted, not needing to hear more. Felicity had only looked at him and nodded gratefully before returning to her computers and the search she had started on one of their targets.

In the back of his mind, Oliver could recall the taunting that the lamia vampire Ashley had done during the night that he had first met Felicity. He remembered the fierceness in her voice when she had yelled at the monster that it was _her_ life and _her _choice. His mind then flashed to the time he had refused to allow her to step out of the Foundry during the day and the way she had seemed absolutely crestfallen when the two of them ha argued and she had mentioned wanting the freedom that had been deprived from her since she had been turned into a hybrid.

Freedom was important to her and he understood that she really was telling him the truth when it came to the compulsion. She would never willingly take away anybody's ability to choose and he believed her.

He just didn't know whether or not he should be scared about the fact that he did.

-§-

"So?"

Oliver dodged Diggle's swing and punched back with equal force. "So _what_?" he grunted, jumping over the leg that Diggle swung out at him to make him loose his balance.

"Are we not going to talk about you getting Felicity a company car so that she can drive herself to the office every day?" Diggle asked, throwing another punch at his shoulder. Oliver lost his balance briefly, but didn't say anything as he kept sparring with the older man.

"There's nothing to talk about," Oliver panted, sweat beading on his forehead. "People are starting to suspect there is more going on between us than just co-workers and it's not really helping that she gets a ride to the office with me every morning."

"And you letting her out of the lair alone in the afternoon to give her new mini a drive? Do you have an excuse for that too?" Diggle smirked his way.

Withing seconds, Oliver had his friend flat on his back on the mats. He walked over to the bottle of water on the desk before starting for the shower. He called out over his shoulder, "We're not talking about it."

Behind him, he heard Diggle let out a low chuckle.

-§-

_He doesn't even know where they are._

_The only thing he's aware of is Felicity; straddling his lap as she works on the buttons of his shirt while kissing her way up the side of his neck._

_Their movements are frantic, his hands tightening on her hips as he pushes her down against him, creating _lovely_ friction where they both need it, before slowly moving under her shirt, spreading across her back as he draws her in closer._

_Lips meet and he swallows her moans when her cold hands finally connect with the bare skin under his own shirt. She raises her hands and puts them on his shoulders, tightening her grip, almost painfully as she grinds down on him, her skirt slowly bunching up around her waist. His own hands travel up too, tangling in her blonde curls as he deepens the kiss._

_The need he feels for her is shocking and he whispers her name against the hollow of her neck before pressing a lighter kiss to her pulse point._

_He needs her._

_He _wants_ her._

"_Oliver–"_

_Glass shatters suddenly and Felicity freezes above him. Her eyes are wide and he stares at her face, horrified when a small drop of blood drips from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes flash yellow for a brief second before turning back to the blue that is _her_ and they glaze over._

_He looks down and sees the wooden arrow protruding where her heart used to beat. He looks past her, through the window that he hadn't noticed before and sees himself standing there; hood covering half his face, bow still raised._

"_No!"_

_He doesn't recognize his own voice when he cradles her blonde head and gently lays her on the floor, ripping the arrow from her chest. He's shaking her desperately, yelling at her to open her eyes for him, but she doesn't._

_She just stares at the ceiling, eyes empty and blood spreading across her shirt._

_He feels tears falling from his eyes when he turns around to yell at himself for killing her, but the room is once again empty and the window is nowhere to be seen. Instead, there is a wall of mirrors and he sees himself, fully hooded up, looming over Felicity's dead body._

_He doesn't know what to do._

_So he screams._

-§-

"_No!_" Oliver jolted out of his nightmare, trying to get a picture of his surroundings. He is in his room and it's late, he realizes. It's been a week and a half since the Unidac auction and the dreams that he keeps having about Felicity are still there.

However, this time things were different. _He _wasn't the one who ended up this time and he had to admit, that it was a first. Usually, Felicity was the one who killed him in his nightmares that always started out as a heated moment between the two of them, but this time, he had been the one who had killed her.

What surprised him the most though, was that his dream self had actually shown weakness and _feelings_ for the hybrid that he had put down and actually _cr__ied_ over her dead body.

The dream bothered him throughout the day. He wasn't able to focus in the office at all and whenever he saw Felicity looking out a window, he found himself wanting to stand between her and the framework. Multiple times, he had to force himself to stop thinking about the images that were vividly playing in his mind and he kept questioning why he was so bothered by it.

Sure, he was slowly accepting Felicity's presence and he had acknowledged that she had saved two important people in his life, but that didn't necessarily mean that he _had to_ trust her, did it? And why should he be _upset_ if she died? Hadn't it been like a month and a half since he had _wanted_ to be the one to put an arrow through her? Why would he be so upset over a dream?

"Oliver?" Felicity said his name carefully, bringing him back to reality. "Your one o'clock is here. Should I send him in or do you need a moment?"

He shook his head, "Just send him in."

"Are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. "You look like you kind of do need a moment. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Felicity," Oliver bit out, almost angrily. He hated that he felt like apologizing when he saw a hint of hurt flash through her face. "Just send him in," he repeated instead of saying he was sorry.

"Okay," she mumbled and backed out of his office. He could see her conversing with the older man that had an appointment scheduled with him and he closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind from the nightmares and thoughts that were still deeply imprinted in his mind.

Later that night, when he was in the Foundry, pounding away relentlessly at a training dummy, he finally decided to ease his mind a little.

"Felicity," he called out as he punched the dummy one final time.

"Yeah?" Felicity called back, not lifting her head to look in his direction. She was deeply concentrated on something on her computer and Oliver decided to just get over himself and go to her. Diggle immediately began preparing for his training session with Felicity when Oliver stepped off the mats. The older man seemed to be determined to at least pin the hybrid to the mat _once_ before the end of this month, because he had been insisting on training with her every single night this past week.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," he said, leaning against the table next to her.

"Ask away," she told him, still not looking at him.

"How do you kill a hybrid?"

Felicity froze and somewhere in the back of the Foundry, Oliver heard Diggle let out a deep sigh. He could tell that his partner wasn't happy with the question that he had asked the hybrid and Felicity herself didn't seem too eager to answer it.

"Actually, you don't have to answer that," Oliver quickly said. "I just wanted to know whether wood can hurt your kind. For scientific purposes..."

It sounded even worse than his first question.

Felicity though looked at him, almost amused and he realized instantly why.

Every single time that Felicity had been willing to share something about the Dark Ones, to teach Oliver and Diggle things that they hadn't known about, Oliver had insisted that he didn't need her lessons. Now though, he was coming to her willingly and _asking_ for her help to understand her species a bit better.

"Uhm..." Felicity trailed off for a moment, humming as she thought about what to say, or perhaps she was wondering whether she should be telling him anything at all. Sure, their dynamic had changed a little and he wasn't as hostile as he had used to be around her, but that didn't necessarily mean that either of them trusted each other yet. Her telling him how wood effected hybrids would surely give him more insight in what he could or couldn't use to kill her and he knew that if he- God forbid- was a hybrid, he wouldn't have wanted anyone to know that.

"Wood isn't very effective," Felicity finally replied. "Although, I guess it also depends on _how_ a hybrid was turned, which is a complicated process all in its own. But, I suppose to answer _your_ question: _no_, it isn't very effective, as I said."

"So it wouldn't kill you if someone stuck a wooden stake into your heart?" Oliver frowned.

"Is this still purely for scientific reasons?" Felicity questioned, her eyebrow raised.

"Of course," Oliver easily replied, surprised by the earnest in his tone.

"As I said, it would depend on _how_ the hybrid was turned," she repeated, "but generally, wood wouldn't kill a hybrid. A stake through the heart might temporarily incapacitate them, but not necessarily kill them. Wood anywhere else just hurts like a bitch, as does silver, which you use for werewolves, but neither kills them because the two mixed species sort of work against it inside the body."

Her answer was a little confusing, but Oliver seemed to get the main points. "You mean that the werewolf side of the hybrid would stop the wood from hurting the vampire side and the vampire side would respectively render the silver useless against the werewolf side?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Felicity nodded. "Although, as I said, it would still hurt if we were stabbed with a weapon in general, because our bodies would try to heal themselves with the weapon still inside."

Oliver nodded slowly as he looked down at her. She was still watching him curiously through her lashes and his gut tightened when he once again remembered the dream he had had.

"Why are you _really_ asking me this, Oliver?" Felicity asked, but he didn't know what to say in response.

Thankfully, Diggle decided to interrupt, "Felicity, I've set everything up." Felicity tore her eyes away from Oliver's and looked over at Diggle who was standing on the training mat, hands already raised for a fight against the hybrid.

The little monster looked back at Oliver and tilted her head in question before sighing deeply. When she turned to walk away from him, Oliver reacted without thinking. He reached for her hand and stopped her from walking away and she turned around to look at him, a thousand questions burning in her eyes.

"Why did you tell me all that?" he asked her gently. "You know you didn't have to."

Felicity watched him for another moment before smiling lightly and shrugging. Then she pulled out of his grasp and walked over to Diggle and started sparring.

Oliver watched them, amusement setting in the more frustrated Diggle got. Felicity was quick, especially with the little extra help from the blood that Oliver kept giving her every other night. She managed to dodge Diggle every time and get in a light punch every here and there, but Oliver could tell that she wasn't using her full strength.

If anyone asked him how he had felt when Felicity had proceeded to jump up on Diggle, swing her legs around his waist while using her hybrid strength tho flip them both over on the mat a second before pinning him to the mat, Oliver would deny with every fiber of his being that he had been absolutely _awed_ by her.

Also, when the hybrid had then looked up at him with a bright grin on her face, eyes shining golden as she met his gaze, he would most likely also deny the fluttering feeling he had gotten in his chest.

-§-

Thea's birthday bash was approaching and Oliver found himself once again worrying. He hadn't been thrilled when Thea had insisted that Felicity needed to come to the party, and he knew that Felicity too had been reluctant to agree to come. Thea though, was still her stubborn self and refused to take no for an answer and in the end, Felicity had been basically forced to accept the invitation.

Despite allowing himself to accept Felicity a little more, a part of him still liked to remind him that Felicity was still a hybrid. Deep inside he might not still believe that she would attack him at any moment, but the part of his brain that still kept him on alert around her was concerned about what a big crowd would to to her.

The Unidac Industries auction had had quite a few guests, but Thea's birthday parties usually consisted of _at least_ two hundred of her _closest_ friends. This year, his sister would be celebrating her nineteenth birthday and the venue of the party would be Oliver's own club. Since Oliver was _so _busy with Queen Consolidated, Tommy had volunteered to organize the party for Thea.

His younger sister was well aware of the fact that Tommy was in charge, but she hadn't been able to stay away from the planning completely, like she had been instructed to. She tried to look through Tommy's check list a few times, but both Oliver and Tommy had worked hard to keep her eyes off of it.

Oliver really didn't care whether or not Thea found out about the plans Tommy had made, but his best friend wanted it to be the best surprise Thea had ever received ("Besides you coming back from the dead," Tommy had clarified.), so he was determined not to let Thea see anything beforehand.

Oliver's biggest concern was the hybrid that was staying in the lair beneath the club. He was afraid that such a big crowd would make Felicity lose the control she seemed to have on herself around them and succumb to the darkness that might be inside of her.

_Might be_.

Oliver wondered when he had began questioning whether there _was_ a darkness inside of her at all.

His worries didn't exactly ease up when Thea started randomly showing up at the office, just to spend time with Felicity. At times Oliver found himself lingering close to the door so that he could overhear what the two girls were talking about and every time that Thea caught him listening, she accused him of being a sneaky older brother that never minded his own business. He couldn't tell her that he was simply keeping watch so that she wouldn't accidentally anger Felicity so that the blonde would feel like ripping out her jugular and instead, he tried to _politely_ tell Felicity not to get too attached to his younger sister.

Felicity had apologized but promised him that she would never hurt Thea and that if she ever did, she would personally tell him how to kill her so that he could fulfill his wish to put her down. Oliver had sustained from telling her that he actually no longer held any wish to kill her and he had once again been surprised by his own realization.

It was two days before Thea's birthday party that Oliver sat down on a chair next to Felicity in the Foundry. Instead of keeping up her work on her computers this time, like she usually did whenever he walked up to her, she sighed deeply and turned to face him.

"Is everything okay, Oliver?" she inquired.

"Are you absolutely sure that being at Thea's party will be good for you?" he asked bluntly, deciding that it was time he shared his worries with her. Maybe she would see sense in what he was saying and refrain from going to the party.

"First of all, since when do you care if something is '_good_' for me?" she asked, eyebrow raised and lips quirked up in a curious half-smile. "And secondly, is that what's been bothering you these last few days?"

"I just don't know if it's a good idea," Oliver deflected the question. "I mean, what if a bigger crowd makes you all blood-crazed? What if you start killing everyone in the club?"

"Okay, now I'm a little offended," Felicity frowned.

Oliver was thankful that Diggle wasn't in the Foundry yet, because he knew that the older man would most likely be rolling his eyes at him and ganging up with Felicity against him on the matter. But still, he was genuinely concerned about what the outcome of this party might become and he felt like it was better that he shares his thoughts _now_ instead of being on alert all night long during the event.

"Oliver," Felicity finally sighed. "Listen, you know that I've been drinking blood since the incident at the auction, so don't worry about me becoming 'blood-crazed' in a tight space with a big crowd."

"Are you sure that you'll be able to handle it?" he wondered, meeting her gaze.

"Don't worry about it," she repeated. "Besides, you'll be there, right? If you're really _that_ worried, you can stay close to me all night to make sure I don't get myself in trouble." She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, "And by 'close to me', I obviously mean 'at a respectable distance.'"

Oliver fought the small smirk that was threatening to appear on his face and bit back a comment about _wanting_ to stay close to her.

"Okay then," he nodded anyway. "But I want you to know that I'll be keeping my eyes on you...from a respectable distance." He hadn't been able to help himself from the playful tone and his chest felt strangely warm when he saw a light blush creep up on Felicity's cheeks at his words.

Although if anyone ever asked him about it, he would most likely deny that too.

-§-

Felicity was well aware of the fact that things between her and Oliver were slowly changing. Despite being aware of it, she had refused to talk about it when Diggle had asked, because to be honest, she didn't want to jinx anything.

Oliver seemed to be more relaxed in her presence, even though he might not realize it himself. When he had once again given her a cup of blood, two days after he had given her the blood bag, she had been quite surprised. She had thought the blood bag was a one-time-deal, but apparently, it was Oliver's way of showing her something that he wasn't ready to say yet. He was thankful because she had saved Thea and Walter, but he was still too proud to actually say the words to her himself.

Felicity didn't mind it though, because she was willing to wait until he was ready. They seemed to have an unspoken agreement about not speaking about the change that had occurred between them, but at times, Felicity wanted him to just spit out whatever it was that he was thinking about when she caught him staring at her.

She had been shocked when he had put a pair of car keys on her desk one day, to a red mini that was registered under Queen Consolidated. He reminded her that the car had a built in GPS-system and that she shouldn't get any ideas, but that the car was essentially _hers_. She had been thrilled and asked him if she could go for a ride before meeting up with him and Diggle in the lair and she had been even happier when he had told her that it was fine.

No matter how much things were changing between her and Oliver though, the biggest change in her life seemed to be the younger Queen sibling.

Thea was insistent on showing up at Queen Consolidated whenever she could, just to have a good conversation with Felicity before leaving. Felicity still recalled the day that Moira had walked up to them and asked Thea what she was doing at the office, because apparently, Thea was supposed to be heading over to CNRI to work with Laurel on something. Thea had simply dismissed her mother by telling her that whatever she had had planned with Laurel had been postponed, because the lawyer was apparently busy with some other case. Moira had shot Felicity a glare before telling Thea that she might _learn more_ if she hung around Oliver, but Thea insisted that Felicity was _fun_ and that she could learn much more from a MIT-graduate than a four-time college drop out like her brother. Her mother hadn't seemed pleased about that, but nodded nevertheless.

"You shouldn't talk like that about your brother, Thea," Felicity had said when Moira had left.

"Well, it's true isn't it?" Thea had shrugged. "Besides, I don't mean anything by it, but it's a fact. You're smarter than Oliver."

"There are several kinds of smart, Thea," Felicity had shook her head. "Oliver is one of the brightest, most kind men I have ever met."

Thea had looked amused by Felicity's admission, but she hadn't said anything else on the matter.

Oliver had been letting her walk around and explore Queen Consolidated on her own from time to time, mainly whenever he was stuck in a meeting. Felicity enjoyed going down to the IT-department the most, but she knew she couldn't hang around there all day long. Usually, she went to the cafeteria and got herself something to eat while Oliver was busy and she always brought back a bagel for him, but no coffee.

That was where Thea had found her this day, in the cafeteria, buying Oliver a bagel.

"Oh, hey, Felicity!" Thea exclaimed, happily embracing her. "I was just looking for you upstairs."

"Oliver is in a meeting with the chief of finance without Walter today," Felicity shrugged. "I know the numbers give him a head ache and a bagel usually cheers him up."

"Really?" Thea quirked an eyebrow. "You sure know my brother..."

"It's my _job_ to know him," Felicity pointed out, holding up the paper plate with the bagel for Thea to see. "You were looking for me?" she asked then and Thea raised two bags in reply.

"I got us Chinese for lunch," she smiled. "No nuts, right?"

Felicity remembered the little lie she had spun about being allergic to nuts, all so that she would seem more human. "Yeah," she nodded, a smile covering her own face.

They settled around Felicity's desk after Felicity put Oliver's bagel in his office and Thea immediately started talking about what was going on in her life. The most recent subject was apparently a guy that she had 'met'.

"Does it really count as a meeting when he stole your purse?" Felicity asked once Thea had finished telling her the story about this _Roy_ person.

"He gave it back," Thea protested, laughing when Felicity simply raised an eyebrow at her. "And then he saved me from being mugged and most likely raped by some other guys. He got stabbed while doing so!"

"And then you took him to the doctor and he was all cutely afraid of needles- which I completely understand by the way, because I've never liked them either- and you kissed him to make him forget about the sting," Felicity rolled her eyes. "I _was_ listening to you, you know," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I just feel like this might be something similar to the Stockholm Syndrome."

"Stockholm Syndrome?" Thea asked. "Isn't that the one where the victim falls in love with his or her kidnapper?"

"Or in your case, purse-stealer," Felicity grinned teasingly.

"I'm not _in love with_ Roy," Thea objected. "I just think he's cute!"

"He's a criminal, Thea," Felicity stated. "I don't think your brother would approve."

"It's a good thing that I don't answer to my brother then, isn't it?" Thea said. "Besides, I might have sort of invited him to Verdant tomorrow."

Felicity gaped at her with wide eyes, "You invited the guy who stole your purse to your birthday party?"

"He gave it back!"

"Definitively the Stockholm Syndrome," Felicity laughed just as Oliver walked in. He sent her a curious look before greeting Thea, but Felicity gently shook her head and he didn't even try asking. Instead, he walked into his office to give the two of them some privacy.

Felicity glanced over at him and saw him take a bite out of the bagel she had bought him before he turned to some reports on his desk. She couldn't help but smile lightly and once again think about the changes that were happening between them.

They had started out roughly and violently, with him hating her and her being annoyed at him for refusing to give her a chance. She had been calling him a prison guard in her mind for a while when he had been extra grumpy about her staying locked up, but things between them were surely looking up. Now, the only thing that seemed to cross her mind when she saw him was how cute he looked whenever Thea made some remark and he actually _pouted_ at his younger sister.

_Cute?_

She almost scolded herself for thinking it, but she had never really tried to deny the fact that she found Oliver incredibly attractive. To be quite frank, she would have to actually be blind not to see it, and even then his smooth-as-silk voice would probably be enough for her to still find him charming.

So she had gone from feeling like a captive in Oliver's prison, to actually _kind of_ finding him so attractive that it made her insides tingle every time he was near her...

_Stockholm Syndrome_, her brain reminded her, but she chose to ignore it just like she ignored how her heart always seemed to beat a little bit faster when Oliver was close to her.

-§-

The party is in full swing when Oliver arrives after a quick patrol. Diggle had decided to head home earlier and Oliver had changed quickly into his suit before giving Felicity some privacy to get ready. It had been a slow night for some reason and Felicity had tried to explain it by saying that a full moon was coming up soon enough and that the Dark Ones usually gathered strength for those so that they would be able to run around more during those nights.

As Oliver made his way through the throngs of people, pressed tightly together on the dance floor, he couldn't help but wonder whether it was safe for all of them to be there. If something were to happen, he was sure that people would get injured, but he had to trust Tommy's judgment on it.

Tommy had really outdone himself with this party.

Oliver and his best friend used to throw a lot of them during their younger years, especially before Oliver went missing. He could recall 'the good old days' but they didn't really look so 'good' when he thought back at them. Oliver had been a complete asshole and he had had a drinking and partying problem. He had never been serious about anything and the few things he had tried to be serious about (mainly Laurel) he had ended up ruining sooner or later.

Oliver liked to believe that he was a changed man since returning from his five year exile and the people around him pointed out the change in him enough times to confirm his thoughts. Still, he couldn't deny that the beat of the music and the strobe lights didn't make his heart race somewhat. Perhaps it was time he took a minute to actually relax and enjoy himself, and what better place to do so, than at his younger sister's birthday party?

He found Tommy by the bar, giving the bartender strict instructions on checking people's ID before serving them.

"Tommy!" Oliver said, clapping his friend on the back before leaning closer to his ear so that he could hear him over the loud music. "Great party! Thea is going to love it when she gets here!"

"You think so?" Tommy grinned back, slinging his arm around Oliver's shoulder. "She texted me earlier and told me that she'll be here in just a few minutes! She also mentioned yesterday that she invited _your_ Felicity!"

Oliver frowned at his choice of words, "Felicity isn't _mine!_" He had to keep his voice loud so that Tommy would hear him, but his best friend merely grinned at him.

"I'm pretty sure she used the words 'Oliver's Felicity' when she told me," Tommy insisted. "Either way, if that is the case, I'll finally get to meet the person Thea has been going on and on about."

"She'll be here," Oliver nodded. "But she isn't anything special. She's just...a friend."

Before he could think about his choice of words for referring to Felicity, a bubbly and grinning Thea ran up to him and Tommy, jumping into Tommy's arms as she embraced him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tommy!" she squealed, loud enough to be heard over the music. "This is the best party ever!"

Tommy laughed and Oliver grinned at Thea. "The night is still young, Thea!" Tommy said. "I just hope it'll be memorable for you. Happy Birthday!" Tommy hugged Thea back before letting go of her so that she could turn to Oliver.

"Where's Felicity?" Thea pouted.

"Good to see you too, Speedy," Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister. "Felicity will be here soon enough. She just had to change."

"She's changing _here_?" Thea asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Oliver immediately realized that he shouldn't have mentioned that, because now Thea was probably questioning why Felicity would need to change at the club instead of going home to change. "We got held up at the office and she asked one of her friends to bring her change of clothes for her here. I suggested she change in the office," he lied on the spot.

"_Okay_," Thea drawled, but she didn't seem fully convinced. On her face Oliver could tell what she was really thinking.

Since meeting Felicity, Thea had several times teased him about supposedly having a thing for his blonde Executive Assistant. When Oliver had denied it, she had told him that he should 'totally get together with her because the girl is a blast' and that hadn't exactly made it easier for Oliver to not think about the dreams he was having about the hybrid.

"_Whoa_," Tommy suddenly gaped. "Is that her?"

Thea turned toward the stairs and nodded, a bright smile spreading across her face. Oliver actually rolled his eyes at Tommy's reaction as he turned to get a look at Felicity himself.

Except, it wasn't Felicity.

It _couldn't_ be her.

The blonde that was nervously walking down the stairs toward the dancing crowd could impossibly be the hybrid that he was so used to seeing casually dressed in the Foundry and professionally dressed at the office.

Her blonde tresses were lose over her shoulders, curls framing her face in a way that he had never actually seen before. From his view point, her make up was light and she wasn't wearing much jewelery besides her earrings and a golden bracelet. What took his breath away completely though, was the short golden dress that went to her mid-thigh, a small slit on her right side, revealing even more of her creamy, long legs that seemed to be miles long, ending in a pair of black high heels.

She was looking over the crowd, looking a little confused for some reason before she closed her eyes. When she re-opened them again, her eyes settled on him- or maybe on Thea?- and she smiled widely before once again starting her descent down the stairs.

"Holy _shit_," Tommy spoke beside him. "Your secretary is _hot_, Oliver!"

Something inside of Oliver rumbled at Tommy's words. He didn't feel comfortable with Tommy looking at Felicity that way. There was something twitching inside of him as he watched Felicity approach them, making men around her turn their heads her way, but she seemed happily oblivious about the attention she was getting. Oliver hated himself for the feeling that made him itch to just walk up to her and grab her, showing everyone around them that she wasn't available...

But he couldn't, because just as he had told Tommy earlier, and Thea several times during this last week: Felicity wasn't his.

Of course, he didn't really _want _her to be his either, but he couldn't deny that the emotion that was welling inside of him tasted incredibly bitter in his mouth. It was something that he had been familiar with when he was younger, but something that he had tried very hard to suppress, just so that he wouldn't break the facade he had built for years.

_Jealousy._

"Thea!" Felicity grinned at his sister when she reached them, holding her arms out so that Thea could step into them. Oliver tensed briefly, but relaxed once he saw that Felicity had only embraced Thea as a friend and wasn't intending on biting her and sucking her dry. It really was difficult to just forget seven years of hunting Dark Ones, no matter how different Felicity claimed to be.

"Happy Birthday," the blonde grinned as she separated from Thea. She turned to Oliver and her smile softened. "Hi, Oliver."

"Felicity," he nodded curtly. Felicity's eyes moved from his face, down his body, to his shoes and then back up again. Was she checking him out?

Tommy cleared his throat loudly, "Well, since Oliver isn't going to introduce me: Hi, I'm Tommy!"

Felicity smiled brightly, "Felicity. Tommy Merlyn, right? Oliver's best friend?"

"Yes, I am," Tommy grinned back. "And I must say, Oliver here has been _clearly _been trying to keep you all to himself. You look great!"

Oliver rolled his eyes again at his friend's antics, but looked over at Felicity who seemed torn on how to respond. Instead of actually saying anything, she laughed, as sound that seemed to send signals from his brain to his core, warming him.

"What Tommy is trying to say is that he probably expected you to be some nerd, because I mentioned that you're a MIT-graduate," Thea explained. "But less small talk, and more dancing! You promised me a dance, Felicity!"

"When did I do that?" Felicity protested, but her smile remained on her lips.

"Just now," Thea said. "Or at least I'm going to pretend you did, because it's my birthday!"

"Oliver?" Felicity asked, turning to look at him. Oliver tensed and Felicity seemed to realize her slip. She shouldn't be asking his permission like this when Thea and Tommy were around. Actually, she shouldn't ask his permission when _anyone_ he knew was around, unless they were at the office of course, then it would probably be more acceptable. Her asking him now would probably make Thea and Tommy wonder why she needed his permission and Oliver dreaded letting them think that there _really_ was something going on between the two of them.

Oliver moved his head in a tiny nod that was barely visible, but he knew that Felicity would understand. With yet another bright smile, she covered her slip, "I'll see you later maybe."

Thea grabbed her hand and pulled her along with her, into the crowd while Oliver remained standing there, watching them.

"You sure have been holding back with that one," Tommy smirked at him.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked, looking at Felicity and Thea who started dancing together. Felicity was twirling Thea around from time to time and they were both grinning widely and laughing loudly, even though he wasn't able to hear them over the music.

"How have you been able to keep your hands to yourself? She's hot _and_ smart, and she also seems to care a whole lot about Thea," Tommy pointed out. "Plus, she saved your sister's life. I'd say she's a catch."

"And she's also my Executive Assistant," Oliver said, deciding to use that as an excuse. "It's hardly professional."

"It's the _best_ cliché in the world!" Tommy protested.

"In _pornography_," Oliver retorted. "But no, trust me when I tell you that I won't be going there with Felicity. And please, leave it at that."

"Whatever you say, man," Tommy shrugged. "But when you two get married and have a bunch of mini Oliver's speeding around, I'll be the one saying 'I told you so.'"

Oliver didn't comment, instead he kept watching his sister and Felicity dancing, but Tommy's words kept ringing in his ears for some reason.

Felicity was a hybrid. There was no possible way for her to have children– Or was there? The blonde had mentioned that there were different ways of turning into a hybrid, which would in turn make hybrids react differently to various weapons. Was it similar when it came to procreation?

Sure, Felicity hadn't been a hybrid for very long, but she had most likely learned a lot during her time with her pack and her Sire. Then again, she had mentioned that she had never actually seen the man that had turned her, but it had been a slip during the night that he had first met her. Nevertheless, it made him wonder and it made him curious. He wanted to know more about her species but he wasn't ready to push his luck just yet. Felicity had already shared some facts about hybrids in general, but maybe this was a too sensitive subject to bring up?

When had he started bothering with what was too sensitive and what wasn't?

He shook his head at himself before his mind decided to remind him that as far as he knew, only _made_ vampires weren't able to procreate. Werewolves, shapeshifters and lamia vampires could all have children. Most werewolf packs in the West and the North consisted of family members, but the wolves in Starling were mostly lone wolves that had started doing the dirty works of vampires. The lamia vampires he had come across in Russia had been a family that went back over a hundred years, so they too had made sure that their family tree was flourishing.

Shapeshifters were the more difficult species in Oliver's book. They too, just like vampires were divided in two groups: The _Bellua _and the _Letalis_. The knowledge he held about this particular species was that the bellua shapeshifters were able to transform to an animal form while the letalis morphed into various human shapes. The bellua were, from what he had learned, more spiritual and peaceful than most monsters while the letalis were some of the deadliest, most viscous creatures he had ever come across. Witnessing their transformation from one human form to another was absolutely sickening and _once_ had been enough for Oliver.

It had happened while he had been in Hong Kong and he would never forget the day that his target had began dropping skin and sprouting longer hair while it's teeth dropped out of its mouth. After he had shot it with the iron bullet, straight through the heart, he had effectively killed it and then proceeded to throw up everything he had eaten earlier that day.

Oliver shuddered, not wanting to think about the horrifying memories anymore.

He focused his eyes on Felicity and Thea again. Felicity was moving languidly to the beat, hands raised above her head with her eyes closed. Oliver swallowed thickly when he zeroed in on a bead of sweat making its way down her throat before it disappeared under her dress.

For a moment, his eyes lingered on her form and he once again blamed it all on those pesky dreams he kept having and the fact that he was _a man_. His body was reacting to Felicity because she was attractive, no matter how much his brain told him that it was wrong because of what she was.

But he was tired and he wanted to actually relax for one night, maybe live a little like Diggle had told him to do.

He turned to Tommy, who had walked off to prepare for the cake apparently, before turning back to look at Felicity. The hybrid opened her eyes and it was as if she had sensed his gaze, because instantly, she looked over at him.

Hey eyes flashed for a mere second and Oliver had swallowed. When he looked past her, he could see another man slowly moving closer to her, dancing along the crowd as he made his way toward the blonde. Oliver moved without thinking, crossing the distance between him and Felicity before his brain could even register what had happened.

"Can I cut in?" Oliver asked Thea, grinning down at his sister as he rested his hand on Felicity's shoulder. The hybrid had stopped moving to the beat when she had seen him approaching and now stood facing his sister as well.

Thea grinned, "Of course! I'm tired anyway!" She put her hands on Felicity's arm and tugged at her a little before pushing her closer to Oliver. "Enjoy yourselves while I go find Tommy!"

She walked off the dance floor before Oliver could say anything else to her and left him alone with the hybrid. He looked down at Felicity, who was still in his arms.

"I know I told you to stay close to me," she hummed as his hands moved to settle on her hips, "but this is almost ridiculous." She wasn't even trying to hide the amusement in her voice as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her body coming up to press flush against his.

"Well, I figured it was better I check in on you to see to that you don't attack anyone," he smirked. "Just one song." He didn't know whether he was just telling her that, or if he was actually trying to convince himself.

Felicity smirked back at him, her eyes glistening mischievously golden for a second, "_One_."

-§-

One song turned into two, and two turned into four before Oliver could even realize that he had been dancing with Felicity for half an hour straight.

The floor was packed with people and he was _forced_ to keep her close to himself so that she wouldn't slip away. People around them were grinding and jumping and screaming and laughing, but he was only able to focus on the sensation of Felicity's hand playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

She had been toying with the short strands for five minutes now and Oliver was acutely aware of every time her finger nails scraped over his skin. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm his senses, but it wasn't very effective considering that Felicity's intoxicating scent was the only thing that made its way up his nostrils.

"If you're tired, I can always find someone else to dance with," Felicity whispered in his ear. Her curls tickled the side of his face and he fought the urge to turn his head and bury his face in the soft locks.

"I don't want you dancing with anyone else," he told her. "What if you decided to bite them?"

Felicity pulled away a little, but she didn't look offended by his quip. She looked amused. "And what makes you think that I won't bite _you_?"

At first he had thought that it might have been an accidental innuendo, like the ones she usually dropped around him, but when the teasing look she was sending him didn't fade, he realized that she was being serious.

His mind seemed to decide that that was a good time to flood him with memories of the dreams he had been having about her– _Felicity's hands moving across his bare chest, embracing him as her nails dug into his back. Fangs scraping the side of his neck before reaching his pulse point, where she teased his skin with her tongue..._

Oliver snapped his eyes open, not even realizing that he had closed them in the first place. Felicity was looking at him, that same look still etched on her face. He wondered whether she really was a mind reader of some sort, because the long in her eyes seemed to say that she knew every little dirty thought he had ever head about her.

He needed to do _something_, so he grabbed her hand and pushed her a little further away from him. She seemed a little startled at first, but her hybrid senses kicked in and she was able to stabilize her feet almost instantly to stop herself from tripping. He twirled her around two times quickly, the people around them moving away a little at their suddenly large movements before bringing her back to himself.

Her back was now pressed against his chest, his arms crossed over her chest, locking her in his embrace. He leaned down slowly, feeling her tense slightly as he brought his lips to her ear, brushing against the sensitive skin as he whispered, "You wouldn't."

"You sure?" she countered, her voice equally quiet, her breath heavy.

"You won't," he insisted, "because you still want to earn my trust."

His words seemed to relax her a bit and soon they were once again moving against each other. This time though, their movements were slower than the beat, but also more precise. Oliver's blood was rushing through him, straight to places where he _really_ didn't need it at the moment. Luckily, he was able to stop the once again dirty trail of thoughts that his brain had started for him.

Felicity turned her head so that she would be able to look at him, but she stayed in his arms with her hands over his, holding onto him just as he was holding onto her.

"Haven't I already?" she challenged him softly.

He looked down at her and then at their hands that were still clutching each other.

But he didn't reply.

-§-

Felicity knew that whatever she and Oliver were doing on the dance floor was out of line.

Okay, so they might not actually be hurting anyone and they might not be doing anything _bad_ in general...but their situation was _bad_, and she knew that they needed to stop.

Felicity admired Oliver for the things he had gone through and survived and for the things he did for Starling City. He was a hero in her eyes and she would never deny that if anyone asked her.

However, she knew that he didn't trust her yet, so she couldn't help but suspect that this sudden closeness that he had established between the two of them was anything other than some kind of mind game.

She didn't mind playing games, as long as they were both in on the fun, but somehow, since she had asked him if she had earned his trust, things had turned more serious between them.

He still kept her close as they danced and she reveled in the feeling of having his tall frame pressed against her slimmer one. There was something that felt so incredibly _right_ about being in Oliver's arms, that the logical part of her kept insisting that it must be _oh so wrong._

She knew she should be pulling away, not just because she had spotted Tommy and Thea watching them curiously a while ago, but because she didn't know if she would ever be able to let go if she didn't.

As a hybrid, all her human senses were automatically heightened. She had felt the change inside of her the moment she had woken up as a turned hybrid. Her anger had become fury and her sorrow had become so painful, that she had barely been able to keep herself from ripping the people around her to shreds. Of course, those weren't the only emotions that had been magnified. Her strong will became the thing that kept her from giving into the darkness and it had in the end been her salvation as well.

The things she was feeling for Oliver... The _attraction_. If she didn't get a grip on herself, things could escalate fairly quickly for her and she would without a doubt begin feeling something more for the man.

If he really was beginning to trust her, she wouldn't want to do anything to compromise the development, but dancing with him right now...it felt too right for some reason. Felicity decided to give herself this one night, before pulling away from him. One night and then she would focus on what she came here for.

She closed her eyes, her face pressed tightly against Oliver's chest now, listening to his thudding heart. The blood that she had drank earlier tonight rushed through her body, heightening her abilities just like it had done at the night of the auction. Mentally, she began counting the various heartbeats in the club, finding their sounds calming despite the way some were beating erratically.

Inhaling deeply, she took in every unique scent in the room, and then she froze, immediately looking up at Oliver.

"Something is wrong," she told him, pushing him a little further away from her as she inhaled through her nose again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, grabbing her arm before she could start walking.

"I can smell 211 different people in the club," she answered, "but I can only hear 206 hearts beating. There are _vampires_ here."

Instantly, Oliver was on alert, looking around. His grip on her arm tightened a little as he leaned closer. "Is there any way you could point them out?" he asked her.

"If I'm high enough to get a good look at everyone, I might be able to recognize them," Felicity nodded. "But there's no way to see them in this crowd."

Oliver grabbed her hand and pulled her with him toward the stairs. They hurried to the second floor and walked toward the ledge so that Felicity could look down at the dance floor. She scanned the floor with her eyes quickly, trying to see anyone she might recognize from the Black Rose or any other gathering she had been to.

"I need to find Thea," Oliver stressed beside her. "I have to make sure she's safe."

"Oliver, be quiet!" Felicity scolded as she looked over the guests again.

On the other side of the room, stood a man, about Oliver's age with broad shoulders and a tall frame. Felicity stared as he met her eyes and smirked at her–

"_Turn or we'll kill them all!" the man growled at her. "Turn!"_

"_Never!" Her defiance was rewarded with a slap across her face before the other two vampires in the room began pulling at the ropes that were drenched in wolfsbane. Not even her screams could drown out the pain._

–Felicity snapped out of the memory, "Oh, _shit_."

Oliver turned to look at her, his face determined, "Did you see one of them?"

"Go, suit up," Felicity nodded. "I'll see if I can lead them outside."

"How do you know they'll follow you?" Oliver asked before she could walk away.

"Because one of them used to hold me captive before I escaped," Felicity replied calmly, despite the storm of emotions raging inside of her. She pulled her hand away from Oliver's grip and gave him one last shot nod before walking off, eyes set on the man she had seen before. She moved as quickly as she could, stopping just a few meters away from the vampire. With one last look, she sprinted for the door.

She could hear the vampire and two others follow her as she ran out in the cold night. Without thinking twice about it, she led them around the corner of the street, straight into a smaller alley. Calmly, she turned to face the grinning vampire and his two followers.

He approached her, giving her a slow clap. "I almost didn't recognize you," he told her, his British accent making her skin prickle. "I never would have expected to see you here, Ms. Smoak. Especially not after you dropped off the radar four months ago."

The two vampires behind him, a man and a woman, snickered, their eyes shining red.

"Well," Felicity spat, "I guess I slipped up."

The vampire laughed and chills ran through Felicity as she remembered how many times he had done so while stabbing her thigh with his damn silver dagger.

"Imagine my surprise when I saw you having the time of your life at this _supposedly_ private event," the vampire continued. "I might have been able to trick the guards into letting us in, but _you_ must have been invited to the event."

"Or it could just be a coincidence," Felicity pointed out with a shrug.

"That's what Mindy thought," the vampire said, motioning to the female behind him. "Then the birthday girl herself pulled you out on the dance floor and you spent the better half of an hour dancing with none other than Oliver Queen."

Felicity knew she needed to keep stalling until Oliver could get here. Even though she would probably be able to beat them all down with the extra amount of blood she had taken in, she knew that she wouldn't be able to take their lives.

"Coincidence," Felicity repeated. "They mean nothing to me."

The vampire leader grinned, his fangs visible in the moon light, "Are you sure?"

He snapped his fingers together and Felicity watched as two other vampires walked into the alley, dragging an unconscious Thea between them. Felicity watched as Thea's head lolled from side to side as the girl muttered something under her breath.

"What did you do to her?" Felicity growled, taking a step toward the leader.

"Nothing yet," he smirked. "We just put a little something in her drink. Don't worry, it's a human drug so it won't do much damage. Although, your reaction sure says a lot about what the little Queen means to you." He walked to the two vampires that were holding Thea and brushed a finger against Thea's cheek.

"I swear, if you _touch_ her again, I'll _kill_ you," Felicity snarled. Her fangs were elongating, tearing through her gums and every cell in her body seemed to react due to the rage she felt inside of her.

"Come with us and no harm will come to her," the vampire leader replied.

There was no choice to make, so Felicity moved. She had the female vampire knocked out within a second before she moved to the man who had been standing next to her. They must be mates, Felicity realized, when the male attacked with ferocity at seeing _Mindy_ on the ground.

Felicity elbowed him in the face before reaching around him, snapping his neck. It wouldn't kill him, but for the time being, he would be incapacitated.

The two vampires that were holding onto Thea, lowered the girl to the ground before charging at her, fangs bared and snarls loud. Punches were being thrown and one of them managed to get in one hit to Felicity's abdomen before she pushed him away so hard that he knocked against the wall, cracking his head against the bricks.

The fourth vampire took a step back, clearly shocked by her display of strength. His eyes flickered over to his leader and Felicity took the opportunity, speeding forward as she grabbed him by the throat, squeezing until her fingers dug into his skin, drawing blood. The vampire gurgled and stared at her with wide eyes when she crushed his windpipe with her bare hand and then he too fell unconscious. She knew that he too would be getting up later, but for now, she had gotten the upper hand.

She turned to the leader, who was staring at her bloody hands, startled.

"You've been drinking human blood," he realized. "Otherwise you wouldn't have been _this_ strong."

Felicity was about to reply when an arrow whizzed through the air, hitting the vampire in the stomach. The monster dropped to his knees and Felicity looked up to see Oliver in full costume staring down at her from a small balcony on the side building. He jumped and came down to stand next to her, bow aimed at the vampire that was kneeling.

"Who are you and what do you want with Ms. Smoak?" Oliver asked, his voice disoriented.

The vampire looked between Felicity and the Hood before laughing. "You're working with the Hunter?" he laughed. "This is ridiculous."

Felicity stepped forward, grabbing the vampire by his cheeks. "Who sent you?" she asked him. "Who else saw me here tonight? Tell me and _he–_" she motioned to Oliver was looking as intimidating as ever, "–won't kill you."

The vampire seemed to contemplate his options. "We stumbled onto you by accident," he replied. "We were just looking for a late night snack and a club seemed to be an easy place to find it. When we saw you, we stuck around."

"Have you alerted anyone else of Ms. Smoak's whereabouts?" Oliver asked, not lowering his bow.

"I swear, I haven't!" the vampire said, eyes wide and fear written on his face now that his facade seemed to break. "No one knows she's here! Just the five of us!"

Felicity turned to look at Oliver. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could tell that his jaw was ticking.

"Felicity, move away," he finally said, wooden arrow remaining aimed at the vampire.

"No!" the vampire yelled, shaking his head wildly. "I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"Shut up," Oliver growled, sending another arrow flying into the vampires stomach after Felicity moved away.

The vampire's eyes turned read and his fangs extracted when he snarled at Felicity, "I should have killed you myself when I had the chance! I _told_ them that you would cause trouble! I _knew_ it the moment you _refused _to turn!"

Felicity could feel her body run cold at the memories that were starting to floor her mind again.

_Chains, rope, wolfsbane..._

The vampire stood and moved to her in high speed and Felicity closed her eyes, knowing there was no chance that she would be able to deflect the move.

The hit never came though, and when Felicity opened her eyes, the vampires eyes had turned blank as he stumbled back, wooden arrow etched into his chest, right through his heart. The vampire sunk to the ground, skin turning ashen and Felicity let out a breath she hadn't even known she had been holding.

She turned to look at Oliver, who lowered his bow before reaching for another arrow.

"They're all vampires?" he asked, the voice modulator off.

"Yes," Felicity breathed. All she could do was stare as he sunk the arrow through each and every one of their hearts. They all shriveled, skin graying as they died before her eyes. He turned toward her then and pulled the hood off his head, meeting her eyes for the first time since he had joined up with her.

"We need to get Thea out of here, but first I have to dispose of the bodies," he told her.

Felicity nodded, pointing at a garbage container, "We can put them there for now and then get back later."

Oliver looked in the direction she was pointing and nodded slowly, already reaching down to lift one of the dead monsters over his shoulder.

"Thank you."

Her voice had broken the silence that had fallen between them and she could only stare as Oliver froze.

"Just get Thea inside and I'll meet you there in a few," he said.

Felicity nodded curtly and then moved to Thea, who was still unconscious.

-§-

Oliver joined her a few minutes later, just like he had said. The two of them made up some excuse to Tommy who looked horrified at the sight of a fainted Thea and a bloodied Felicity.

Felicity told him that Thea had had a little too much to drink and that she had gone outside and that she herself had tripped over her high heels when following her and scraped her hands, thus the blood.

Oliver carried Thea up to his office at Verdant and gently put her down on the couch.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" he asked Felicity, who nodded.

"They drugged her," she explained. "From what I can smell, it's a drug called Vertigo that has become quite a problem here in the Glades, but she should be fine."

"Can you somehow sense if it's on its way out of her system?" Oliver frowned. "Or do I need to take her to the hospital?"

Felicity knelt down next to Thea and took the younger girl's hand. She brought her wrist up to her nose and inhaled deeply. "She should be fine," she told Oliver. "There's not much of the drug there, just enough to knock her out. Taking her to the hospital would just start an investigation that would lead to things that we really don't want people to stumble upon."

Oliver nodded slowly, agreeing with her.

"I should go downstairs," Felicity said. "I think I've had enough action for tonight."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her and she groaned, "Not _that_ kind of action." Oliver's lips quirked up and Felicity shook her head at him.

"Felicity?" a confused, low voice said. Both Oliver and Felicity turned their attention to Thea, who was opening her eyes slowly. "I just had the weirdest dream," the girl said. "I think you were a vampire."

Felicity looked over at Oliver, who seemed just a tiny bit paler. She pressed her hand to Thea's forehead and smiled lightly, "You've clearly had too much to drink. Get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow."

"Roy was here," Thea mumbled. "He was nice."

"I'm sure he was," Felicity nodded, just as Thea drifted off to sleep again.

"I'll come with you," Oliver said when she began moving to the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with Thea?" Felicity asked, frowning at him.

"She'll be okay," he said, looking over at his sister who was snoring lightly. "If she's able to talk about _boys_, she's fine. Besides, you told me that the drug is almost out of her system and I'll come check on her soon. It's better if she just sleeps it off. And I should probably go and burn those vampires."

Felicity didn't know what to say, so she just nodded at him and allowed him to lead the way.

They walked down to the Foundry unnoticed, because apparently, even if the birthday girl wasn't there anymore, the party continued. Felicity washed her hands from the dried up blood and then walked over to her chair and sat down, taking off her high heels.

Oliver went out briefly, returning twenty minutes later smelling like gasoline.

"Set them on fire?" Felicity asked and he nodded.

"It's easier that way," he said. "If a Dark One finds the bodies, it wouldn't be able to smell us on them."

Felicity looked down at her hands again, memories of what had happened flooding back to her. She had thanked Oliver for helping her, but he hadn't said anything to her about it yet. He had dismissed her instead, completely changing the subject when he asked her to take Thea inside.

Felicity just didn't know what to do with that.

"Hey," Oliver spoke suddenly and she looked up, seeing for the first time that he had come to stand in front of where she sat. He seemed a little hesitant for a moment before he lifted his hand and rested it on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Are you okay?"

Felicity felt her lower lip tremble, but she nodded, not trusting her own voice for a moment. She stayed quiet, but he didn't remove his hand, so finally, she gathered enough strength to speak.

"I almost lost control tonight when I saw the two vampires bring Thea to the alley," she confessed. "I wanted to tear them to pieces for even touching her and–" she cut herself off with a sharp breath, " –and I guess I never thought I could feel that way."

Oliver watched her intently, not speaking. It felt like ages passed before he opened his mouth, "Thank you, Felicity." He gazed into her eyes and Felicity once again felt those butterflies act up inside of her stomach. "For protecting and saving Thea again... I..." he trailed off, closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he seemed determined. "I think I'm ready to trust you."

Felicity would never be able to explain how she felt in that moment. She looked at his face, searching for a hint of sarcasm or trickery and she couldn't help the small smile that bloomed on her own face when she realized that he was telling the truth.

He trusted her.

He _trusted_ her.

"Oliver," Felicity swallowed, making her decision to speak before she could once again let her doubts set in. "The People of Darkness are planning something big for Starling City." She felt his grip tighten on her shoulder slightly and without thinking, she put her hand over his, squeezing it lightly. She could see the way tension set into his body and she understood that he really didn't need another think on his plate tonight.

Still, even though she knew he might not be ready to hear the whole truth yet, she had to tell him. She had to _show him_ that she knew that he trusted her and that she trusted him too.

"They are planning something big," she repeated, her voice low, "and they are calling it an Undertaking."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Cue dramatic music!<strong>

**Yay! Oliver has finally decided to accept the fact that Felicity can be trusted and he's NOT being a complete ass-hat to her! I told you he would be coming around, didn't I? ;)**

**Tell me what you thought of the chapter in a comment and please, do tell me what your favorite part of this chapter was! :) My favorite part to write was probably the dance scene between Oliver and Felicity, or the Tommy/Felicity introduction and Tommy teasing Oliver about his 'hot secretary'...**

**Okay, now. Don't forget to comment and I'll love you forever! =) Now I'm off to study for an exam I have next Thursday!**

**Hugs xx**


	9. The Truth

**Note: Hey guys! First off, I wanna say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday two weeks ago and secondly, I want to apologize for not updating last week. As some of you might know, I had a huge test and school in general has been kicking my butt lately, so I needed to prioritize. This chapter might be a little shorter than the other ones, but it is still passed 8k, so hopefully, you'll accept that.**

**I had an awful day today, so I would really need some nice reviews to cheer me up and keep me going! Thank you for never giving up on me and for always supporting me by reading and reviewing my fics! I love you all!**

**Enjoy! **

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><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

**Chapter ****9****: The ****Truth**

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><p>There was a silence between them that he desperately wanted to break. Felicity was looking into his eyes, probing for a reaction from him, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.<p>

_'They are planning something big and they are calling it an Undertaking.'_

Felicity's words had made him freeze over as his mind went through a thousand different possibilities as to what this 'Undertaking' could be about.

This was what he wanted though, wasn't it?

Oliver had wanted Felicity to tell him the truth ever since she had joined him and Diggle on his crusade and now, here she was, willing to give it to him. Yet, a small part of him knew that they had been through so much during this evening, and really, ever since they had met each other, and all he wanted to do was let her rest and actually prove to her that he _really_ trusted her.

"Oliver, I don't even know where to start," Felicity said, her voice shaking as she looked up at him from her seat. She was still wearing that golden dress, but her heels were off and for some reason, she looked so incredibly vulnerable. He understood that she wanted to tell him the reason that she came to him in the first place, but he was aware that it could wait another day. He was tired and she looked just as exhausted and they _both_ needed some time to recover from what had transpired during the birthday party.

"Felicity," he began slowly, squeezing her shoulder. She still hadn't removed her hand from where it rested on top of his and for some reason, he was okay with that. The small gesture of support meant _something_ to him, even though he wasn't sure what, just yet. "You don't have to tell me anything tonight."

"Oliver," Felicity sighed, "I've wanted to tell you for some while now, but I wasn't sure if I should until I knew for sure that you trusted me. Now that you do, all I want is to tell you the things I know."

"It's okay, Felicity," Oliver replied. "If it could wait for this long, it can wait another day. It'll be better if Diggle is here too, so that we can figure out our next move, _together_."

She watched him curiously for a moment, "Are you sure?"

"I am," he nodded, offering her a small smile, which she returns hesitantly. "Get some sleep and rest up. I'll see you down here tomorrow and then we can talk."

"What about work?" Felicity frowned. "Won't we see each other there?"

"Maybe you should call in sick and rest," he shrugged. "You've earned it."

"Oliver, no offense, but if I have to stay locked up all day in here," she motioned to the space around them, "I'll probably go mad. I'll see you at the office."

"Okay," he agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow... And thank you, again..." A confused look covered Felicity's face and he cleared his throat, "For saving Thea and for being there for her in general. Thank you for protecting her."

"You will never have to thank me for that, Oliver," Felicity told him confidently. "As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything bad happen to Thea if I can prevent it."

He didn't know what to say, but he hoped the look he gave her showed her how thankful he was for her promise. The small smile that bloomed on her face told him that she had heard him despite that he hadn't said anything.

"You should get some sleep too," Felicity whispered after a moment. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

Without saying anything else, Oliver headed up the stairs.

-§-

Oliver woke later than usual the next morning. Or rather, he was awake for quite some time before he actually got out of bed, reflecting once again on what had happened the previous night.

After leaving Felicity down in the lair, he had made sure to get Thea home safe and then gone to bed himself. He reached for his phone that he had felt on his nightstand in case Felicity– _or Diggle_– needed to get a hold of him for some reason. No new messages and no missed phone calls, which didn't come as a surprise since it was just seven in the morning.

He knew that Thea was most likely nursing a hangover after the drug the vampires had dosed her with, but his mother and Walter would be waking up soon to get ready for the office. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he needed to make sure that his Thea was okay. Even though Felicity had told him that the vampires hadn't used a high dose of the drug, it had been enough to actually knock his little sister and one could never be too careful when it came to these things.

Getting up from the bed, he decided to do a few push-ups, just to make himself look a little more tired than he looked. His mother, after all, would think he had been with Thea at Verdant all night long, which means that it would probably be better if he looked hungover too.

Forty minutes later, he had taken a shower and gotten dressed for work. He walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where he found his mother eating breakfast alone while reading a paper.

"Good morning, Oliver," Moira said, not looking up from her paper. "I'm guessing you had a good time yesterday at Thea's party?"

"Yeah, we had fun," Oliver shrugged, sitting down next to his mother. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, looking at the article she was reading. "Huh, that Vertigo drug seems to be going around in the Glades," he casually pointed out.

"It's a good thing that you make sure the security is high enough so that no one manages to sneak in drugs in your club," Moira nodded absentmindedly. "A lawsuit or a police investigation is the last thing we need."

Oliver frowned. What a strange thing to say.

"Yeah, good thing," he replied anyway. "Has Walter already left for the office?"

"He had an early morning meeting," Moira answered. "But he told me to tell you that you didn't have to come in until later. He figured you would be feeling the aftereffects of the party." His mother finally looked up at him and nodded curtly, as if the way he looked confirmed Walter's suspicions.

"That's great," Oliver grinned back at her. "I should probably text Felicity and tell her she can come in a bit later too and then I'll go see if Speedy's alive."

"Ms. Smoak doesn't need to come in later just because you are," Moira said, narrowing her eyes.

"She was at the party too last night, Mom," Oliver retorted. "Thea wore her out on the dance floor."

"Just Thea?" Moira wondered, giving him a pointed look.

Oliver's mind flooded with images of him and Felicity dancing closely to each other. The way she had fit perfectly against his body, swaying and pressing at just the right times... His hands on her waist, her hands playing with his hair...

"Don't tell me you sent spies after your kids," Oliver joked, but knew very well that there could be some truth there. Moira was known for always trying to keep an eye on her children; especially now that Oliver had returned from the dead, two years prior.

"I didn't need to," Moira said. "Raisa's niece was at that party and apparently, she had seen 'Mr. Queen dancing with a pretty blonde' for 'a long time.'"

"It was _one_ dance, mother," Oliver sighed, reaching for a glass of juice. "Thea practically forced us to."

"Mhm..." Moira hummed, still looking unimpressed.

Oliver put his hands flat on the table and rose from his seat, "I should probably go check on Thea and then head out. I'll see you later?"

"Yes, yes," Moira nodded and he once again pressed a small kiss on her cheek before walking away.

There was a strange feeling in his gut when he walked up the stairs toward Thea's room. He didn't like the fact that someone– even if it had been just Raisa's niece– had seen him and Felicity like that. Then again, he should probably be scolding _himself_ for being the one to actually persuading her to dance with him. Also, one dance surely would have sufficed. There had been no reason for him to keep her all to himself last night.

Unless he simply _wanted_ to keep her to himself?

He shook the thought out of his head before it could fester and knocked on Thea's door. Inside, he could hear a groaning sound and he chuckled as he opened the door a little.

"You okay in there?" he asked.

"I'm _dying_, Ollie! Tell Mom I loved her," Thea replied, her voice muffled by the pillow she had thrown over her face.

"I'll have the message delivered," Oliver grinned, stepping into the room. He walked over to her bed and sat down, brushing his hand over her hair lightly. "Do you need me to get Raisa to bring something up for you?"

Thea groaned again, "The only thing I need is a Bloody Mary and a pretzel _and_ maybe an aspirin or _ten_."

"I'll see what I can do about that," Oliver answered, thinking back to the days he used to be hungover for days in a row after partying too hard. He was glad those days were over for him.

"Remind me to thank Tommy later, by the way," Thea piped up, lifting her head from the pillow. "It must have been a killer of a party if I can't even remember anything after watching you and Felicity grind on each other for half an hour."

"We did _not_ grind on each other for half an hour," Oliver protested, staring wide eyes at his sister who just grinned lazily.

"Right," she said, "it was more like _an hour and a half_."

"I am _not _sending up those pretzels," Oliver said, standing up from the bed.

"Oh, come on, I was just kidding!" Thea giggled, but then winced, closing her eyes tightly again. "But you really shouldn't joke about those pretzels."

"I don't want Mom to think there's anything going on between Felicity and me," Oliver told her. "She's already suspicious as it is and we don't need rumors flying around at Queen Consolidated."

"If you missed it, there already _are _rumors going around," Thea replied. "Besides, it's not as if the two of you are being subtle with your flirting. It might be harmless, but others might read more into it."

"Are you always this insightful when you're hungover?" Oliver teased, deciding to ignore he words.

"Only when it's a question about my brother's love life apparently," Thea said.

"Oh, so it's okay for me to discuss _your _love life?" he asked, nudging her shoulder to check if she was still awake. "In that case, who is Roy?"

Thea quickly raised her head and stared at him with wide eyes, "No one!"

Oliver shook his head, chuckling, "See, don't start a war you can't finish, Speedy."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I won't tease you about Felicity– Who I'm pretty sure is your soulmate, by the way– as long as you don't ask about Roy. I don't want you to scare him off from me," she said.

"And I think Felicity's rambling might be contagious," Oliver deadpanned, ignoring the quip on soulmates. "I'll send the pretzels up," he said, heading for the door.

"I love you!" Thea called after him, making him shake his head and smile.

-§-

Moira Queen was a woman of secrets.

Even before her first husbands demise, she had known how to keep things to herself. Infidelities, pregnant teenagers and blackmail were only three of the things listed on her hidden repertoire. If there was one thing Moira Queen knew, it was secrets.

And her son Oliver, was keeping a ton of them.

When she had been notified that they had found Oliver on some remote island near China, she had almost lost her mind out of cheer happiness. Her son, the boy she had believed to be dead, was coming home to her. She had gone out of her way to ensure that he traveled safely to the States and got transported back to Starling City as fast as humanly possible.

The man she had met that day in the hospital though, had not been the boy she remembered.

Her son, the Oliver Queen that she had known before he had supposedly drowned, was gone and as far as she could tell, he was not coming back any time soon. Still, he was her son and she was happy, because no matter what version of him had returned, he was _safe_ and she could _hold him_, not just cry over an empty grave where she knew no one would ever hear her.

Then, the secrecy began. Oliver started sneaking out late at night and come back home early mornings. He thought she didn't notice, but she was his mother and she had just gotten her child back from the dead, so it wasn't as if she was going to let him out of her sight so easily during the nights. When she had confronted him about it, he had made up some excuse about seeing some girl, but she could tell by the emptiness in his eyes, that there must be more to it than just some silly dalliance.

Other, more powerful people, wanted to know what her son might have learned while he was '_away_', and Moira was forced to do something drastic to find out if her son really did know more than he was letting on.

Having her own son kidnapped was quickly added to the sick pile of secrets, but she was happy to know that her son knew nothing of the things she and her husband had been involved in before the Queen's Gambit had gone down.

Guilt always weighed heavy on her shoulders when she thought about the yacht that had been rigged to go down, with her knowledge. She had loved her husband, but she had feared not only for her own life, but for her children's as well. The last minute change that involved Oliver going on that trip with Robert was something that she wished she could have stopped. Perhaps then, Oliver would never have brought Sara Lance along, which was another name she had to add to the list of people whose death she's caused.

Either way, Oliver had returned, but she would always live with the guilt of Sara and Robert, and the other crew members who had died that stormy night.

Her son was distant in the beginning, but over the two years that followed, he seemed a little more at ease with his family again. The bodyguard she had hired after she had had him kidnapped had clearly become a friend of his and she was glad that her son had someone to watch out for him when she couldn't.

She had realized that Oliver had a right to his own secrets, mostly because she didn't want _him_ to start digging into hers, knowing that her son would push her away for all the horrible things she had done, no matter if it had been in the name of protecting him and Thea.

Then came Felicity Smoak, and suddenly, there was a secret that Oliver held that Moira _craved_ to know. At first she had honestly thought that her son was simply having an affair with the girl, and hated that there was a risk of Oliver returning to the scandalous front page of celebrity gossip magazines. She had been highly skeptic as to what other reasons there might be for Oliver to hire such a pretty blonde, but when he had presented her and Walter with Felicity's resume, she had realized that there was more to the woman than met the eye.

Moira had never been very good at minding her own business, especially when it came to Oliver's girlfriends or flings, and she wanted desperately to know more about this Felicity Smoak. She had a private investigator look her up, but even then, the results came up spotless and Moira had to come to terms with the fact that there simply wasn't anything on record that could prove to her that there was something strange with the woman Oliver had hired.

Then she noticed how tense Oliver was around Felicity and how he always seemed to be keeping an eye on her, or having his own bodyguard do it for him. Moira started questioning if Oliver really was having a fling with the girl, or if he was simply trying to keep his eye on her, for some reason.

Moira was glad that Oliver wasn't involved with Ms. Smoak, because it would keep him out of the tabloids and thus _her_ out of the news. She didn't want to become a liability, because dangerous people were still watching her every move, especially now that it had turned out that Oliver knew nothing of what was planned for the city.

Now, things were changing once again.

Moira watched with narrowed eyes as Oliver smiled down at Felicity when he handed her a file. The tension that was usually there in his shoulders when he spoke to the blonde was gone, and the blonde's eyes seemed to be shining as she met Oliver's. When he instructed Felicity to leave the folder back on his desk, the woman nodded enthusiastically and smiled at him before starting to walk away. The moment Felicity stepped away from Oliver, Moira saw that her son's hand was falling back to his side, which in turn meant that Oliver had actually been holding onto the woman by her elbow.

It was an intimate gesture that Moira didn't like one bit. What had changed? Why was Oliver suddenly so open to the blonde that he had insisted that he didn't like at all?

Moira couldn't help herself.

"Oliver, could you please follow me for a moment?" she asked, successfully getting his attention.

The dazed look on her son's face wasn't comforting at all. "Yeah, sure Mom," he replied, following her into her office. She closed the door and made sure to lock it so that they wouldn't be interrupted. When she turned to face Oliver, he was standing with a confused look on his face, "Is everything okay?"

"Oliver, I'm not trying to be annoying, but I'm your mother first and foremost and I need to know what has changed," she told him, in her no-nonsense voice.

"Changed?" Oliver questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Between you and Ms. Smoak," Moira clarified, walking around her desk so that she could take a seat.

"Nothing has changed between Felicity and me," Oliver insisted, but Moira could see it the moment a mask covered her son's face.

"The two of you seem more open with each other," she pointed out. "You're smiling and _touching_ and it almost looks like you enjoy her presence."

"I do," Oliver nodded. "She's kind of funny to be around, you know. She says the silliest things sometimes and-"

"Oliver, are you sleeping with her?" Moira hurriedly asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

Oliver stood frozen for a moment, his mouth opened, but then closed again, lips tightly shut together. The frown was still there when he spoke, "Not that it's any of your business, Mother, but _no_, I am not sleeping with my Executive Assistant."

"Then why are you two acting so differently?" Moira demanded to know. "What has changed? You used to be so cold toward her and now you're openly _smiling_, which you haven't done genuinely since you returned from that Island."

"Are you making accusations based on the fact that I am _smiling_ more?" Oliver asked, sounding as if it was the craziest thing in the world.

"I told you there has been a lot of other changes too, Oliver," Moira replied. "So tell me the truth. Tell _your mother_ the truth."

Oliver shook his head and looked up at her in disbelief. There was a humorless smile gracing his face, which actually made the entire thing look more like a grimace. "In case you missed it, Felicity _saved_ both Thea's _and _Walter's life," he said. "She had _earned_ my trust, Mother and it had _nothing _to do with her looks, or her skills in the bedroom, which I may add, I know _nothing_ about. I would appreciate it if you never brought it up again."

With those words, Oliver unlocked the door and stepped out of her office, leaving her to stare after him. She understood where he was coming from, because she _had_ been nagging him about it ever since Ms. Smoak started working for him.

But there was still something about that woman that made Moira's skin crawl. She had had suspicions that there could be... _darker forces_ at work, but she couldn't know for sure. All she knew now was that she would have to keep her suspicions to herself and not ask Oliver about it again. She didn't want to push her son away, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let go of her intuitions when it came to Felicity Smoak that easily either.

-§-

Tommy Merlyn waltzed into Queen Consolidated with a bright smile on his face.

He had just gotten off the phone with a still recovering Thea Queen, who had made sure that the birthday party he had thrown her had been the best birthday party in her life, and he was very pleased, to say the least.

The younger Queen had also filled him in on the conversation she had had with her older brother that morning and for a moment, the two of them had laughed over the fact that Oliver could get flustered so easily.

Tommy knew his best friend and from what he had seen, there was clearly _something_ going on between Oliver and his new blonde friend. The last time Tommy had seen Oliver dance the way he had danced with Felicity at Thea's birthday party, had probably been some time before Oliver was shipwrecked. Since his return from the Island, Oliver had been more and more reluctant go out clubbing, and to be honest, Tommy was thankful for that.

Tommy was in a steady relationship with Laurel and they were in a good place. He wouldn't want to go back to the way things were before because he was happy.

His happiness with Laurel was actually the reason he was coming to talk to Oliver today, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't enjoy having a little conversation with Felicity, seeing as Oliver wasn't in his office at the moment.

"Ms. Smoak," he nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he took in the woman. She was sitting by her desk dressed in a bright orange dress, tapping away quickly at her computer.

"Mr. Merlyn!" she exclaimed, looking up at him immediately. "Oliver was just- I mean, _Mr. Queen_ has been held up by his mother, but he'll probably be here in a moment."

"You're not going to ask me if I have an appointment?" Tommy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure _Mr. Queen_ is a very busy man..."

"Well, you are his best friend," Felicity pointed out and by the look on her face, he could tell that he was teasing her on the 'Mr. Queen' slip. "I don't think you need to have an appointment any less than his sister does. Besides, I know that his afternoon is free, since I keep his schedule and all that."

Tommy eyed her and grinned, "I think you're the first secretary that I've ever met who openly talks about her job like she's disgusted by it."

"I think you would be too if you were an MIT-graduate," Felicity muttered as a reply. "But still, I can't complain. As long as Oliver keeps paying me, I'll stick around." Her eyes widened suddenly, almost comically, "And by that I don't mean that he's paying me for anything other than my job! As his Executive Assistant, I mean! No extracurricular work being done here whatsoever, so don't get any strange ideas! Oliver and I have a _very_ strict business relationship... Which now that I say it out loud sounds even worse than what I originally said." Burying her face in her hands, she shook her head at herself and groaned.

"Felicity," Tommy chuckled. "You're the one that's putting ideas in my head." She shot him a glare. "Hey, I'm just kidding. Oliver was very serious when he told me that you two just work together last night," Tommy said.

"That's good," Felicity nodded slowly.

"But can we at least stop pretending that you're on last-name-basis? It's kind of obvious that you're comfortable enough with calling him by his first name," Tommy said and Felicity nodded in agreement.

"I guess I'm trying to make a habit of calling him Mr. Queen here at the office so I won't slip up when someone else hears us talking," Felicity explained. "I mean, you should see the look on his mother's face every time I talk to him or he calls me by my first name."

"Well, Moira can be a little harsh, as far as I know," Tommy shrugged. "She'll come around when she sees that there's nothing going on between the two of you."

Felicity didn't look very convinced, but nodded anyway. Tommy wanted to shake his head, because as far as he could tell, there was _clearly_ something there, but he wouldn't press. Tommy watched Felicity as she looked past him, a smile appearing on her face as she did.

"Oliver!" she said brightly, causing Tommy to turn around. His best friend was indeed on his way into the office. "Tommy is here to see you."

"Tommy," Oliver grinned, embracing his friend. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Tommy replied.

"Sorry that I kept you waiting," Oliver said, motioning with his hand for Tommy to follow him to his part of the office, on the other side of the glass wall.

"It's alright; Felicity kept me entertained." Tommy sent a wink Felicity's way, making the blonde blush lightly. When Tommy turned back around to face his friend, Oliver had an unreadable expression on his face, which usually meant that he was trying to conceal either annoyance or jealousy.

_Yeah right_, Tommy thought. _Nothing going on at all._

"By the way, Felicity," Tommy smirked, "if Oliver ever gives you a hard time," he grabbed a pen on her desk and a paper, scribbling down a few digits, "give me a call and I'll tell you some embarrassing stories from his childhood that you can use against him."

Felicity took the note from him and smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Tommy," Oliver groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure Felicity could have found out everything about me within just a few minutes, especially since she has access to a computer."

"Ah," Tommy said triumphantly, "there are things not even the Internet knows about!"

Felicity laughed at that and Tommy witnessed something amazing.

The corners of Oliver's mouth lifted in a _genuine_ smile. Those moments were very rare since his return from the island. Tommy had only seen it happen a few times, usually whenever Thea was around.

"Let's go then," Oliver suggested, "before you actually reveal something to Ms. Smoak that she'll be able to blackmail me with later." There was something in Oliver's tone that suggested that Felicity already knew something that no one else knew and it made Tommy curious. He didn't press however, because he needed to have a conversation with Oliver about something important.

They walked into Oliver's office and Tommy closed the door after them, looking over at Felicity who once again started tapping on her computer. Tommy had been in Oliver's office a few times already, but the view of the city always impressed him immensely.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Oliver wondered, walking up to stand beside Tommy, looking out at the city.

"I don't want things to be awkward between us," Tommy began slowly, "but I really felt like I needed to talk to you about it first."

"Oh?" Oliver raised his eyebrows.

Tommy nodded, "Yeah..." He paused. "Oliver, I want to ask Laurel to marry me."

"Oh."

Tommy let the silence hang for a moment, waiting for Oliver's reaction, but his best friend's face remained neutral. After a moment though, Oliver's lips tugged up, once again in that rare, genuine kind of way and Tommy had never felt more relieved.

"Are you asking me for your blessing?" Oliver wondered, sounding amused.

"Is that weird? It's weird, right?" Tommy chuckled, shaking his head at his own antics.

"I am happy for you, Tommy," Oliver grinned. "You and Laurel both." Oliver opened his arms and Tommy didn't hesitate for one second to embrace his friend in a _manly_ hug. "You got a ring yet?" Oliver asked and Tommy nodded, taking out the small box he had been carrying around with him for weeks, afraid that Laurel would somehow find it.

He opened the box for Oliver to see the simple princess cut diamond ring with a golden band. "Do you think she'll like it? I know it's not something extravagant, but-"

"Laurel will love it," Oliver nodded, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "You know she will."

"I sure hope so," Tommy laughed.

"So when are you going to do it?" Oliver wanted to know.

"Soon, hopefully," Tommy replied. "Laurel's been working a lot at CNRI lately and I asked Detective Lance a week ago, so soon."

"You asked her father for permission?"

"It felt like the right thing to do," Tommy shrugged. "Especially considering that the man is authorized to carry a gun."

"You do have a point," Oliver smiled. "You deserve to be happy, Tommy."

Tommy watched him and for a moment, he hesitated. Oliver had been through so much in his young life and for some reason, even though the Island horror was over, it still felt like Oliver kept re-living the nightmares time and time and again.

"You deserve to be happy too, Oliver," Tommy said. For a brief second, Tommy thought he saw Oliver's eyes flicker to the glass wall that separated his and Felicity's offices, but Tommy chose not to look too deep into it for now.

"I'm happy," Oliver defended, but it sounded a little halfhearted.

"In that case, you deserve to be even happier, man," Tommy told him, clapping him on his back. "Hopefully you'll find someone who keeps putting those smiles on your face, because I need my best man to not look grumpy when he holds his speech."

"Best man?" Oliver grinned.

"Did you think I'd pick someone else?" Tommy asked.

Oliver shook his head lightly and chuckled under his breath, "I just figured you would at least wait until Laurel said yes."

Tommy's smile fell, "Do you think she'll say no?"

Oliver put both of his hands on Tommy's shoulders, forcing him to look at him. "I think Laurel would be stupid to say no, and if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Laurel Lance is anything but stupid."

Tommy smiled, thankful for his friend's reassurance and then checked his watch. "Well, I need to head off. I promised my father I would meet up with him for a late dinner to talk," he grimaced.

"Malcolm is still insisting you two work on your relationship?" Oliver wondered.

"Considering that he cut me off and then refused to talk to me for six months, I'd say there's a lot to work through," Tommy deadpanned. "Besides, the other year and a half he's been having a lot of meetings and shit that I don't even want to get into. The man is seriously full of secrets and I don't know if I've ever had an honest conversation with him."

"Maybe it's still worth working on," Oliver shrugged. "My mom isn't exactly the easiest person either, but we work through it."

"Yeah, yeah," Tommy agreed. "At least my father doesn't accuse me of sleeping with my secretary though."

Oliver groaned, "Will everyone just cut it out already? First off, Felicity is my _Executive Assistant_, and secondly, I am not, nor will I ever be sleeping with her."

"You're right," Tommy said. "I don't get why anyone would think that a girl like her would actually go for a guy like you. She's way out of your league."

"You're free to leave, Tommy."

"I'll see you around, Oliver."

-§-

After the conversation he had had with his mother, Oliver had been agitated, to say the least. He didn't want her to think that there was _anything_ going on between him and Felicity.

The thing was, that even though he had accepted Felicity now, it still didn't change the fact that she _is _a hybrid. He trusted her, but that didn't mean that he had to _like_ her.

Or at least not in the way everyone else seemed to think he did.

He had spent the last seven years of his life fighting the darkness that prowled in the night and now he trusted one of the Dark Ones enough to listen to her and leave her alone with his sister. If someone were to ask him, he would call that an accomplishment.

He was well aware of the fact that Felicity was attractive. If his dreams about her were anything to go on, it was clear that at least _his body_ felt attracted to her. His brain though didn't want to complicate things further by allowing his body to explore said attraction and he was glad for that. It was bad enough that it was there, but he didn't want to walk around with it on his mind constantly.

So yes; he trusted Felicity, but he didn't like her. At least not in _that way_.

He was willing to trust her when it came to Thea and to their work, but he didn't dare think to develop the understanding that the two of them had come to together without actually speaking about it. As long as she knew that he trusted her enough so that he wouldn't kill her, they were good.

Tommy had made his day a little easier. The news that his best friend was going to propose to Laurel wasn't unexpected, but it sure was a happy surprise. When Oliver returned from Lian Yu, he might have believed that he wanted to give him and Laurel another try, but truth be told, he had known that five years had passed, and the chances that Laurel had waited for him for those years while she thought he was dead, were slim, if at all existing.

A wedding, whenever it would take place (because Oliver was sure that Laurel would accept Tommy's proposal, no matter how corny it might be), would be a happy occasion and hopefully by then, Oliver would have come a long way on his own crusade against the Darkness, so that he would be able to attend without having to think about protecting everyone he loved.

"Oliver?" Felicity suddenly spoke up beside him. They had decided to catch a cab together today so that people who recognized Felicity's mini cooper wouldn't find it suspicious as to why she's always parking her car outside of Verdant. Diggle was running an errand, so he would be joining them in the Foundry when he was done.

"Yes, Felicity?" His voice was surprisingly soft, even to his ears, as he looked out the window at as the cab driver drove them through the Glades. He didn't want to think about the conversation that was about to come, but he knew that it was inevitable. Felicity, Diggle and he would have to talk about the thing that made Felicity look them up and make them hunt her. She had been keeping the secret for nearly two months now, all so that she would make sure to build his trust before revealing anything.

"I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to get mad at me," she admitted slowly. "I know that even though we trust each other, we aren't exactly friends." Oliver turned his head sharply toward her and stared as she rolled her eyes, "I'm not _that_ naïve, Oliver."

"Feel free to ask," he said instead of commenting her statement, because he knew that he couldn't add anything other to it that wouldn't just make the matter even more confusing.

Once again, Felicity hesitated, biting her lip, "How do you _really _feel about Tommy and Laurel potentially getting married?" Oliver eyes her confusedly and she simply tapped her ear, giving him a look.

_Ah_, he remembered, _hybrid hearing_.

Of course Felicity had overheard every word that Tommy and he had said in his office. After all, the walls were made of glass, which wouldn't block out the sounds that she was able to pick up with her enhanced hearing.

He thought about what would be the better answer, deciding to go with the truth, "I _am_ happy for them, Felicity. They both deserve the happiness they've found in each other."

Felicity's head moved in an affirming nod before she looked out the window on her side of the cab. "Tommy was right, you know," she said after a moment.

"About what?" Oliver wondered, realizing that he had still been watching her even though she had turned her head away from him.

"You deserve happiness too," she replied, her voice so low, that he had barely heard her. She turned her head and met his eyes, connecting for what felt like an eternity. His fingers itched to reach out and touch the blush that appeared on her cheek, which always managed to make her look so _human_.

Realizing what he had been thinking, he quickly turned his gaze away, staring straight ahead. Her words still echoed in his mind and in that moment, Oliver didn't know what to think anymore.

-§-

Felicity was _pacing_ in the Foundry.

Oliver was sitting on the stool he normally sat in when sharpening his arrows and Diggle was leaning against the med-table, while Felicity paced, surprisingly looking graceful while she did.

The hybrid had been walking back and forth in front of them for the better of ten minutes as she tried to figure out where to begin with her story. Every once in a while, she would stop moving, open her mouth to speak, and then shut it again, only to start walking again.

Oliver had had enough of it. She was only prolonging the conversation that they all knew that they needed to have. Diggle shot Oliver a warning glare though when Oliver opened his mouth to speak, and he promptly sat down on his chair again, respectfully waiting out Felicity, who cracked her fingers, shaking them lightly afterward.

"Okay, okay," she said, almost to herself. "It's just so weird talking about this since I've been keeping the secret for so long. I don't even know where to begin," she told them.

"Why don't you just start in the beginning?" Diggle suggested, giving her one of those comforting smiles that Oliver was sure he would never be able to give her.

"Okay," Felicity nodded, "alright." She took a few more deep breaths, closing her eyes before turning to face them. "I was turned into a hybrid approximately five months ago, give or take a week or two," she said. "During the first month, I was being kept in some kind of underground base and I overheard some of the wolves that were guarding talking about some kind of Undertaking."

"Werewolves stood guard?" Oliver frowned. "For hybrids? Aren't you supposed to be stronger than them and vampires combined?" He had seen Felicity use her strength; he knew just how strong and how quick the petite blonde could be.

"I was in isolation," Felicity explained. "After I was turned, I... Well, let's just say that I wasn't as accepting as the other hybrids," she bit out. "Either way, they usually patrolled the hallway, sent in food and such so that I wouldn't die of starvation before they could get what they wanted."

"What did they want?" Oliver wondered, but Felicity only stared at him. "Damn it, Felicity! Just tell us whatever the hell they have planned so that we can plan our next move!"

His frustration was getting the better of him, but he could still see the hesitance in Felicity's eyes. They narrowed at him, probably on instinct, briefly flashing yellow before turning back to their normal shade of blue.

"I was weakened," Felicity continued, "and I couldn't hear everything that they were saying. All I know is that I heard them mentioning an Undertaking and plans of attacking the humans, to take over Starling City."

The breath he had been holding left Oliver's lung as he turned to look at Diggle. The older man held an expression on his face that was probably similar to the one that was covering Oliver's own.

If the People of Darkness were really planning to take over Starling City completely, it would take _a lot more_ than just a vigilante in a green hood, a former soldier and a hybrid hacker to take them down.

"Once I realized what they were going to do, I quickly decided to submit," Felicity explained. "I tricked them into believing that I was loyal to the Master, and tried to gather as much information as I could, but it was difficult because they never spoke about it in my presence. I guess they were still not sure of where my loyalties were," she shrugged.

"Who is the Master?" Diggle asked. "Your Sire?"

"There might have been a man that caused me to turn, but I have _never_ had a Sire, nor will I _ever_ have one," Felicity snapped, eyes flashing, this time staying yellow as she watched them. "The Master is a man without a face. No one ever saw him and the only time I heard his voice, it was when I used my hearing to listen in on one of the other lamia vampire's conversations with him through the phone."

"Doesn't sound like a hell of a lot of information to me," Oliver said, raising from his seat. "You've told us nothing yet that can be useful. You mention an Undertaking, but know no date, nor real plan. You talk about a nameless, faceless Sire that we can't locate. How are we supposed to use _anything _that you've told us, when we have _nothing_ to go on?" His voice was harsh and Felicity took a step toward him.

"I know it's not much, Oliver," she growled at him, "but at least it's more than you had yesterday."

He shook his head in disbelief. How could he have been so stupid to think that the hybrid would actually come forward with useful information? Sure, it might be more than he had known before, but he had just gotten a bunch of fancy words and another mystery person to look for. He was back right where he started when she had first sent him a text message for him to come and find her.

"Why look us up?" he asked her. "Why contact the Hood and reveal your identity– Why _expose_ yourself like that, if you had nothing to give us in return?"

"I _have_ something to give," Felicity protested. "I give you _my skills_, I give you insight on the Dark Ones that you never would have been able to figure out and I've given you the knowledge that they are planning something _huge!_" She took a few deep breaths, to calm herself, but her eyes were still honey colored as she continued, "I knew I couldn't be a part of the death of hundreds, _thousands _of people, Oliver. I needed to do something to help save them and the solution came to me when one of the vampires mentioned how Bertinelli's club was safe from the Hood. I _heard_ the fear in the other vampire's voice when he talked about you and I could _smell_ it all around the room." She closed her eyes and opened them, revealing once again her blue irises, "I knew that you would be the only one brave enough to take on the war that is about to go down. I still believe that."

Oliver sighed, pinching the brig of his nose as he did. What was he supposed to say? He had been expecting something that he could use to pinpoint an exact location of the person who was behind the entire thing, but now all he knew was that the Dark Ones would try to take over his city at some point.

"Do you have anything else to add, Felicity?" Diggle asked before Oliver could even bring himself to start forming words with his mouth. "Something that might give you a clue to when things will be going down, or _anything_ on how they are planning to do it?"

Felicity looked deep in though before nodding, "Toward the end of the year, after winter."

"How do you know?" Oliver asked.

"Deduction, I suppose... One of the less intelligent wolves mentioned that he was glad that he would have time to see his family, his old pack, for Christmas before he came back to fight," she said. "And as far as how they are planning to do it... There's a reason they turned me."

"What are you saying?" Oliver frowned. "They turned you so that you could join their army of Dark Ones?" When he said it out loud, it didn't actually sound _that_ crazy.

"They have been rounding up werewolves for _months_, Oliver," Felicity replied. "Lone wolves, wolf packs, any kind of wolf they can find really, just so that they can try turning them into hybrids to make a stronger army."

"An army of hybrids," Diggle acknowledged.

"You said it yourselves," Felicity nodded, "hybrids are hard to kill. You two didn't even know for sure what would be able to kill them before I joined you."

"We wouldn't have stood a chance," Diggle realized, looking over at Oliver.

Oliver clenched his jaw, but found himself nodding. He couldn't deny that this final piece of information that Felicity had given them was useful. They knew what they were going to stand up against and they had a few months before the Undertaking would be taking place, so they would have time to prepare and get ready. By then, hopefully, Oliver might be able to locate the Master and kill him, to prevent the Undertaking from taking place at all.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long," Felicity said. "I hope you understand that it wasn't easy for me either, to keep you in the dark."

Oliver didn't want to dwell on how the hybrid had kept the truth from them for so long, because the important thing was that it was out there now and he trusted Felicity enough to know that she would do everything to help him and Diggle stop the Undertaking from taking place.

"You've given us something to go on," Oliver told her, moving to her automatically. He wanted to reach out to her, put his hand on her shoulder to show her how thankful he was for the little information she had managed to give them. Instead, he settled for looking her in the eyes, pouring as much earnest in his voice as he murmured a soft, "Thank you, Felicity."

Felicity let out a shaky laugh, not sounding amused at all, "Where are we even supposed to start?"

Oliver looked toward Diggle, who raised his shoulders in a shrug, stepping away from the table he was leaning on. The man who had turned Felicity had had so much time to create his army, that he wasn't sure if there was anything they _could_ do now except for prepare. Who knew how many werewolves the Master had managed to turn by now...?

An idea formed in Oliver's head suddenly.

"Felicity," he drawled, "is there any way that you might remember any of the wolves that they captured while you were being held?"

"Some of them, yeah," Felicity frowned, "but most of them are probably dead though. They didn't manage to turn properly into hybrids, so the two species burned each other out."

"All we need to know is where they were snatched," Oliver said. "If we can maybe somehow pinpoint the last place they were seen, we might be able to see a pattern," he explained.

"Or we might see a familiar face," Diggle joined in. "A common denominator–"

"–the _wolf snatcher!_" Felicity exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear before frowning. "Sorry, that's just what I usually called him in my head. I never saw him, but I heard the other wolves talking about him."

"There are security cameras all over Starling City," Oliver said, deciding to ignore the way Felicity had started slipping off topic. "If some of the wolves that were captured were taken here in Starling, we should be able to see where most of them are being taken from."

"I bet it's close to the Black Rose," Felicity said. "Usually, the wolves that randomly drop into town visit the club because they hear it's safe there. At least that was what one of my old pack members told me."

"Also, there are cameras all around the world, so Felicity would probably have no problem checking though those recordings either," Diggle said, turning to look at the hybrid. "Will you?"

"Of course I won't," Felicity said. "I'll do anything it takes to help you guys, and stop doubting my skills. I found you without a problem, didn't I?"

"You did," Oliver confirmed. "I don't think either of us are doubting your skills, Felicity. It's just that this is still a long shot and it's not as if you can just write how someone looked so that you can find them online, right? You need names to know where to start looking."

"I have names," Felicity smiled. "One of the wolves that didn't make it... Her name was Alison Greene. I'll start there and then I have a few more to go on."

Oliver almost smiled, feeling a tiny bit of hope blossom inside of him.

"Oliver could use the disguise of the Hood to try and learn more names on the street," Diggle suggested. "Interrogate Dark Ones instead of just killing them. I'm sure there are some out there who have heard a thing or two. If wolves are disappearing, someone ought to have noticed."

"You're right," Oliver nodded. "I can hunt them and get names while you search for them Felicity. Diggle can help with looking up potential targets that might have information."

"A well-oiled machine," Felicity grinned, sitting down by her computer. "Team Arrow."

Oliver scrunched his nose up as he looked at her, reaching for his jacket. "Don't call us that," he told her. "I need to head home, but we can start looking though things tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure thing," Diggle said and Felicity confirmed it with a nod.

Shooting one last glance at Felicity, Oliver headed up the stairs and out into the chilly night. There would be no patrolling tonight, because he needed to gather his strength. Something told him that they would be having busy nights ahead of themselves and he needed to rest.

When he got into the cab he had called for himself, he found himself smiling once again.

_Team Arrow_, he though, remembering how cheery Felicity's voice had been when she had called them that. If anyone had asked him, he would never have been able to explain why it had brought a smile to his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Yeah, I had a lot of trouble with this chapter because I honestly didn't know how i wanted it to play out. Having a part from Moira's point of view was totally unplanned, but I went with the flow. I hope you guys liked that and got a little more insight on her thoughts and can see that she isn't completely heartless.<strong>

**And before you get mad, I want you to know that yes, Oliver is still not considering Felicity a "real friend", but he DOES trust her, so we're getting there okay? He isn't going to become an ass again like he used to be earlier on, but you need to understand his frustration, because he was promised information and truth be told, Felicity didn't have THAT MUCH to reveal. At least they have something to go on and now, the story can really pick up! =)**

**But you need to know that I barely have time to write anymore, so updates might not come as regularly as they usually do... Although I will do my best!**

**Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review! =)**


	10. The Dark Archer

_**Note: I am BACK PEOPLE! Or at least I am for this week! ^^**_

_**First off I want to quickly apologize for taking so long with this update, but school (as I've said so many times) is really killing me and to be quite honest, I didn't really have time to write.**_

_**Still, this chapter is over 14k long, so I hope that makes up for it! ;)**_

_**Thank you to everyone who keeps showing their support by commenting and I am SO HAPPY that this story has already passed 100 reviews here on fanfiction! Thank you so, so much! I love you guys!**_

_**No Arrow on TV this week, so I kind of felt like I needed to cheer those of you who have been waiting for this chapter up a bit! Please enjoy this new chapter of Hunted! :)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Hunted<strong>

_Supernatural hunter Oliver Queen's latest mission's name is Felicity Smoak; a new born hybrid who has gone rogue and left her master. The new hunt brings unexpected twists and turns and when the young hybrid saves his life, Oliver realizes that there might be more to the girl than meets the eye. The hybrid might not be the biggest monster in Starling City and as their unexplainable bond grows stronger, he learns that you can't plan who you fall in love with._

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><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**10: The ****Dark ****Archer**

"Talk to me Felicity," Oliver grunted into the comm-link. He leaned his back against the wall of the container, peeking around the corner, trying to get a look at the Dark Ones that had apparently taken to using guns in exchange for their fangs.

"_I'm hacking into the cameras of the warehouse_," Felicity replied, her voice rushed. "_Diggle is on his way, Oliver. Just hang on a bit longer and you'll have backup!_"

It was so stupid; the entire situation.

They had been searching for the clues on the missing werewolves for almost two weeks now, but every name they managed to get out of the Dark Ones Oliver threatened, always led to a dead end; _literally._

Almost all the wolves that they had managed to locate had been either dead, or too insane to try to talk to for information. The ones who seemed to always end up dead were former Pack Wolves, while the insane ones who had to be put down immediately were Blood Wolves.

They had been following a lead tonight that was supposed to take them to a warehouse where a small pack of wolves had last been seen. Oliver had pressed one of Bertinelli's former men for information and the made vampire had practically told him that the pack of wolves, who included _pups, _had been taken to the warehouse in the Glades.

Oliver had killed the vampire and Diggle had been left to dispose of the body while Oliver went for the wolves. As soon as he had gotten into the warehouse though, the Nightcrawlers that were keeping the wolf pack in captivity, started shooting at him with semi-automatic weapons.

"_I'm here, Oliver!_" Diggle called out through the comm-link.

"Don't use the back entrance!" Oliver told him in a whisper over the gunshots. "I used that one and they have me surrounded."

"_Front door it is,_" Diggle copied. "_I'm going in in five seconds, Oliver. Be prepared to shoot._"

Oliver counted in his head, before finally jumping out from behind the container that he had been using for cover. One of his arrows lodged itself into the vampires shoulder, just as Diggle burst through the front door and started shooting.

His partner took down two of the vampires and Oliver shot another three through the heart. The first vampire he had shot, he had incapacitated by using one of Felicity's special arrows that were filled with vervain. The arrow-tips were mechanical and opened up into a claw-shape as soon as they hit the target, injecting them with the herb that usually knocked them unconscious.

The vampire was screaming, thrashing on the ground, holding onto his shoulder as blood poured out. Oliver approached him with quick steps, aiming and arrow at the monster's head.

"Where are they?" he growled, his voice disoriented.

The vampire was _crying_, which surprised Oliver, to say the least. The monster, who looked like he was in his early twenties, whined, clutching his shoulder as he stared wide-eyed at Oliver and Diggle, who was now also approaching them.

"I don't know, man," the vampire spoke. "I swear to God, I'm innocent!"

"I'll only ask you one last time," Oliver bit out. "Where. Are. The. Wolves?"

The vampire shook his head, tears streaming. "I'm not one of them," he said. "I got mixed up in some weird shit man, but I ain't one of them."

Oliver glanced at Diggle who was standing behind the monster, gun aimed at his head just in case. Frowning, Oliver knelt down, reaching for the arrow that was still lodged into the vampire's shoulder. Pulling it out roughly, the kid yelled and Oliver watched as blood poured from the wound.

"Why aren't you healing?" Oliver stared, trying to make sense of what was right in front of him.

The boy paled, staring up at the Hunter, eyes disoriented, "I can't heal because I'm not _like them_."

"This boy is human," Diggle spoke, quickly putting his gun away as he started pressing against the wound.

"How the hell is that possible," Oliver yelled, reaching down to help Diggle.

What was a human boy doing with a bunch of vampires? Oliver had watched the other monsters shrivel up as he and Diggle put them down, so he was one hundred percent sure that _they_ were vampires. He knew that sometimes vampires compelled themselves humans so that they would always have fresh blood with them, but this boy seemed to be there willingly.

"What kind of weird stuff did you get mixed up in?" Diggle asked the boy, who was shaking from the blood loss.

"Vampires, werewolves, that kind of shit," the boy replied, blood trickling down his chin from the corner of his mouth. "They told me they would turn me, if I promised to bring back a family of wolves I had come across."

"_There were _children_ in that family, Oliver,_" Felicity hissed. "_I looked them up. They were a model family, no history of killing or anything. Pack Wolves that only wanted to live a human life in peace!_"

"Where did they take the wolves?" Oliver asked, looking down at the boy. The distress in Felicity's voice seemed to have spread over to him, which was a little surprising to be honest.

Pack Wolves weren't that common in Starling City. Most of the wolves in the city were actually Omegas or Blood Wolves, which meant that they were basically lone wolves that exchanged favors with the vampire community. Blood Wolves were the more violent type, and those had been the only kind that had existed on Lian Yu.

Perhaps that was the reason that Oliver had decided to simply hate _all _wolves?

But _children _of a Pack Wolf family? They didn't turn until they were eighteen, which meant that they were basically human until they did.

Despite how Oliver may feel about the Dark Ones, he didn't want to believe that children could be corrupted in the way that the other Nightcrawlers that he had come across were.

"I ain't got no clue," the man on the ground spat. "I swear, they just took them out of here. I don't know where they went."

Oliver felt anger bubble inside of him; it was another dead end.

Without thinking, he kicked one of the containers, the metal clang echoing through the empty warehouse.

"Damn it!" he swore, his hands balling up into fists. He didn't even hear it when the young man he had shot with the arrow gurgled and coughed.

He didn't even hear it when the boy took his last breath.

-§-

Diggle made sure that they disposed of the bodies. All the vampires were burned, while the young human had been left out in the streets, making his death look like a mugging gone wrong. No one would ever be the wiser and no one would suspect the Hood's involvement in his death.

They returned to the Foundry, tired and beaten. Felicity stood up from her chair, walking over to them immediately. She began checking Diggle for any wounds, but he assured her that he was fine. When she tried to give Oliver a once over, he instantly turned away from her and walked off to the med-bay. He had been grazed by a bullet, but it wasn't anything big, which meant he could basically take care of it himself.

An hour later, he knew he should probably head home or talk to Diggle about what had happened. Felicity was still watching him from where she was sitting on her cot, a pair of black sweats and a pink T-shirt on. She had changed soon after Oliver had insisted that he didn't need any help with stitching himself up, and he was thankful of the fact that she seemed to understand when he needed to be left alone.

Diggle on the other hand was glaring at him, most likely because he wanted Oliver to say _something_ at least.

"Was that the first human you ever killed?"

Felicity's voice startled Oliver, and he looked over at her. Her hair was slightly curled and put up in a messy bun on top of her head, small tendrils falling down at her sides. She was wearing the glasses that she had at first only worn as a cover, but now enjoyed so much that they had become more frequent.

He searched her face for judgment, or anything that would tell him what she was thinking of him at the moment. Her face was carefully blank though, but the quietness of her tone told him everything he needed to know.

"No," he replied, not wanting to lie to her.

Oliver had in fact killed many humans during the five years that he had been gone. Even before the Island, Oliver had known that the world was a dark place, but he had never actually known to be thankful for the fact that the darkness never touched him in his precious castle. When he had gotten shipwrecked though, he had quickly learned that there was a lot more to it than just bad people. Monsters existed and he had vowed to kill every last one of them.

Sometimes though, the monsters were the humans themselves.

He remembered his time in Hong Kong, when the top secret organization _A.R.G.U.S._ had used him as an assassin. Sure, he had used it to his advantage, training his body up to pretty much a perfect physique that would help him when he finally returned home. He still remembered the first time he had been forced to pull a trigger on a human, but there had been so many bodies dropped after that one, that he wouldn't dare to think about it. It would most likely lead to his own insanity.

The boy in the warehouse tonight, the young man... He had been Oliver's first human kill since he had returned to Starling City. That was why his death had bothered him so much, because he had vowed to himself that he would never kill humans again.

"It probably won't be the last either, Oliver," Diggle spoke up. "We have promised to help this city and keep the civilians safe from the Dark Ones. That doesn't mean that some of them won't look them up themselves."

Oliver remained quiet, staring at the floor in front of him.

"Diggle's right, Oliver," Felicity said softly. "People like that man tonight... There will always be people out there who are seduced by the idea of eternal life."

"Why would _anyone_ want to turn into one of _them_?" Oliver asked, glaring at Felicity and Diggle. "I don't understand it and I don't think I ever will. What can be so good about being–" he abruptly stopped himself from speaking any further when he saw the look on Felicity's face.

She was smiling at him sadly, there were even a few tears shining in her eyes. He wanted to apologize; say that he didn't count her when it came to _them_ anymore, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The blonde hybrid met his eyes and nodded, almost as if she had understood what he had meant to say without him even opening his mouth.

"There must be something we've missed," Oliver said, deciding to move to a different topic entirely. He knew they would probably get back to the one he had almost started sooner or later, but for now, he needed to clear his head and think about something else. "Is there a possibility that some of the wolves might be going willingly?" he asked, looking from Diggle to Felicity.

"Perhaps," Diggle agreed. "Turning into a hybrid would have perks, right Felicity?"

"You mean like enhanced strength, going to the top of the food chain after supposedly being on the bottom of it? Sure," she agreed. "That doesn't mean that all of them know what they're getting themselves into. Also, I don't think parents would risk the life of their children by _trying_ to get them turned into hybrids."

"Maybe they aren't going to turn the kids?" Oliver suggested. "They wouldn't have turned into full werewolves yet, right? Not until their eighteenth birthday?"

"That depends, Oliver," Felicity said. "Sometimes they turn earlier, sometimes later. There's no way to know for sure, but usually Pack Wolves make sure that their children learn in time what it means to be a wolf."

"I can't say I have much experience with Pack Wolves," Oliver frowned. "Somehow I always end up with Blood Wolves on my hands."

"Yeah," Felicity snorted, "those aren't fun at all... Savages, basically."

Images of the first Blood Wolf Oliver had ever seen flashed through his mind. The wolf had been in the middle of turning during a full moon and one of his friends who had been a little slower in the turning process had been ripped to pieces before Oliver could put a silver dagger that he had gotten from Slade through the wolf's heart.

"Savages," Oliver muttered in agreement. "Are you sure that other wolves aren't going to your Master of their own free will?"

Felicity's eyes betrayed her anger and annoyance at him when they flashed yellow for a moment. "I didn't," she bit out, turning away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. Why was she closing herself off like that all of the sudden?

"Hey," Diggle said softly, reaching for Felicity's arm. "Oliver didn't mean it like that. We know that you don't have a master."

_Oh_.

How could he have been so stupid to let an implication of Felicity having a Sire slip out of his mouth? He knew very well how much Felicity hated the idea of someone controlling someone else and he honestly hadn't wanted to insinuate anything or hurt her feelings.

"I know, I know," Felicity said, brushing it off. "It's just a touchy subject for me, I guess..."

"Felicity, I didn't–" he started, but she looked up at him and shook her head.

"It's okay, Oliver," she said quickly. "And it's not important at the moment."

He nodded curtly, trying to figure out where they should begin next. Even if Felicity hadn't gone willingly with the monster who the hybrids were calling Master, it didn't necessarily mean that the other wolves hadn't done so. At the same time, he knew there was a big chance that Felicity was right too.

He watched the blonde hybrid who sat down by her computers again, starting up another search. The pain that always seemed to be hidden in her eyes whenever he brought up her captivity made him curious. It was clear now that Felicity really hadn't wanted to become a hybrid, but she had never actually told him how she had been turned. It intrigued him, but his curiosity made him sick. He had his secrets and Felicity was entitled to her own.

"The Blood Wolves might be going willingly," Felicity said, bringing him back from his momentary haze. "They hunger for power and rising from the bottom of the supernatural food chain which means they might be giving themselves over for turning."

"That makes sense," Diggle agreed. "It would also explain the few crazy wolves we've come across the last couple of times we've followed a lead."

Oliver nodded in agreement, "It does make sense, but that still leaves us without a clue on what to do next and we don't know what the other wolves are doing."

"We need more time," Felicity concluded. "We might be barking up the wrong tree entirely, no pun intended."

Oliver fought the grin that threatened to appear and sighed, "We might not have time. All we have to go on so far are speculations and guesses. We need more concrete information."

"Where do you suggest we find that?" Felicity wondered.

"Bertinelli," Oliver deadpanned, watching the other two, waiting for their reaction.

"Oliver, you can't seriously be considering going to the Black Rose again," Diggle said. "After everything that happened last time?"

"We don't have any other choice, Dig," Oliver said, putting his bow on the table. "Bertinelli is one of the few Dark Ones who know about everything that goes on in the city. If anyone knows anything about the taken wolves, it's him."

"Or one of his personal lapdogs," Felicity stated, fingers flowing across the keyboard as she brought up a picture of a girl with jet-black hair and deep blue eyes. "This is Christine Alpert," she explained. "She is one of the few vampires that never leaves Bertinelli's side. Whatever he might know, she knows too, even if they both pretend that it isn't like that."

"It might be easier to get to her then," Diggle pointed out and Oliver had to agree. It would be much easier to catch this Christine person rather than going directly to Bertinelli himself. Tonight he wouldn't be able to do anything though, because it was already too late and he would have a busy day at the office tomorrow.

"Tomorrow night I'll head out and see if I can get a hold of Alpert," he told Diggle and Felicity. "Do you know anything else on her that might be helpful?" he asked Felicity who nodded.

"All I know is that she's a lamia vampire and I think she might have had a hand in turning Bertinelli a few years ago," Felicity said. "There is a pretty big chance that she has him claimed as her mate, but I can't be sure. They might just be using each other to gain a stronger hold among the People of Darkness."

It was a possibility, he guessed. Bertinelli had been doing everything he could to gain more power, so working together with Christine Alpert may just have been a way for him to rise in the ranks of the Dark World.

"We'll deal with it tomorrow," Oliver said. "John, go home, Felicity, get some sleep."

He didn't even look at them as he walked to the bathroom to change into his casual clothes. The face of the young man he had killed tonight crossed his mind and he couldn't help but feel frustrated about it.

He had released that arrow without any hesitation. Not once had he thought about the possibility that there were humans among the Dark Ones. Guilt filled him instantly, but at the same time he knew there had been nothing else he could have done. The young man should never have gotten involved with the Nightcrawlers, and that wasn't on Oliver– or at least that was what he needed to keep telling himself.

He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Felicity laying on her cot, her glasses removed and placed on the floor next to a book. She turned her attention to him when he exited and their eyes met for a moment.

Her hair was down, blonde tresses spread out on the pillow as she turned to lay on her side so that she could look at him more properly. She was resting one of her hands underneath the pillow, her head on top of it as she blinked up at him, her eyes asking a thousand questions that he knew he would never be able to answer.

"Good night, Oliver," Felicity said, her voice low, her eyes never wavering.

He let out a small breath as his eyes traveled across her petite form on the bed before returning to connect once again with hers, "Good night, Felicity."

-§-

The following day, Moira Queen walked into the office side by side with her son. After the small disagreement they had had about Oliver and his Executive Assistant two weeks prior, she had backed off a little when it came to the blonde.

"Walter called earlier," Moira said as they entered the elevator. "He said he would be returning from Central City tonight."

"Thea's been missing him," Oliver said, "and I know you have too." There was another beat of silence between them, which Moira had become accustomed to by now.

If there was one thing Moira Queen was afraid of, it was losing her children. The main reason that she had gotten off of Oliver's back about Felicity Smoak was because she feared that if she pushed her son too far, he might leave her altogether, which wasn't something she was going to accept.

"Yes," she nodded thoughtfully, her mind drifting off to her husband instead, "I have missed him."

Oliver only nodded curtly, "Well then, I'm glad he's coming back tonight. I have to go now though. the head of the Applied Science Division had some papers for me to sign before they can begin with their new projects. See you later, Mother." He kissed her cheek and then walked off, not waiting for her to say anything else in return. Moira stared after him, hating the drift she seemed to have caused between them, but most of all hating that all it had taken was some blonde for it to appear.

Truth be told, sometimes Moira wondered if it was actually just her own fault. Late at night she caught herself thinking about what would happen if her own secrets caught up with her and she loathed the fact that she would most likely lose her children either way.

Or at least that was what Walter had told her before he had left for Central City.

The two of them had had a disagreement the morning before he had left. He had come across a small notebook that Moira had told him not to look any further into because she was afraid of what might happen to him if someone else found out that he knew more than he should know.

"Mrs. Queen, Mr. Merlyn is here to see you," her temporary assistant told her as she walked toward her office.

"Thank you, Sasha," Moira nodded curtly, already feeling her gut tighten at the thought of seeing Malcolm Merlyn, the father of her son's best friend.

She walked into her office, closing the door behind her as she eyes the man who was standing with his back toward her. He was looking at the city through the window, not doing or saying anything to acknowledge her, even though she knew perfectly well that he knew she was there.

He was wearing a well-tailored suit, as always, his hair impeccably perfect. One of his hands was resting on the window while the other hung loosely at his side as he slowly turned to face her.

"Good morning, Moira," he said, his voice the epitome of calmness, sending chills through her body.

"Good morning, Malcolm," she replied, eying him cautiously, knowing that the chills weren't the good kind. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you so early today?"

"I wanted to personally make sure that your husband isn't asking any questions," Malcolm told her, watching her with that cold stare of his.

How had he known?

_It's Malcolm_, she reminded herself. _Of course he knows._

"Walter isn't asking anything," she told him. "I swear that he doesn't know anything."

Malcolm walked around her desk, walking closer to her as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She resisted the shudder that threatened to course through her body, keeping her eyes level with his.

"I really hope that is the case," Malcolm said. "We wouldn't want anything interfering with our plans. Or _anyone_, for that matter."

Moira smiled at him in a way so that it would be obvious that she didn't mean it, "Of course." She moved away from his hand and walked to her chair where she sat down behind her desk, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I have Walter under control and he isn't going to ask any questions or look into anything that could lead back to you," she assured him.

"I'm glad to hear that," Malcolm nodded. "We would hate for something _unfortunate_ to happen to him, wouldn't we? We don't want a repeat of what happened to Robert."

"I've made sure that all the yachts my family owns have been disposed of," Moira bitterly said, but it only brought out a smile out of Malcolm as he laughed.

"That was a good one, Moira," he chuckled, but there wasn't a hint of amusement in his eyes. His face turned serious and he watched her quietly for another minute. "You know why we have to do this," he said, stalking toward the desk. He gripped the edges tightly, knuckles turning white as his eyes bore into hers.

"I know," she answered, her glare equally cold. "Now, I would appreciate it if you called the next time you decide to barge into my office."

"Just wanted to make sure we were still on the same page," he told her, stepping away from the desk.

"That doesn't mean that everything else is going according to plan," Moira said. "We've had to move up our plans for two years now; ever since the Hood came to Starling City."

"Robin Hood isn't going to be a problem for us this time," Malcolm snapped. "He's playing his own part in all of this without even knowing that he is. When the right time comes, he will be brought down too, but for now, he's actually being useful."

"Whoever he is, he ruined your original plan," Moira pointed our. "How come you haven't looked him up sooner? With your resources, I'm sure you would have been able to find out his identity."

Malcolm shook his head, that eery smile still etched on his face, "It will all fall into place soon, Moira. Don't you worry about it." He checked his watch and sent her another curt nod, "I have to go. I finally got Tommy to make lunch plans with me."

"That's nice," Moira said. "Send Tommy my congratulations on the engagement. I heard on the news that Ms. Lance seemed over-joyed during the proposal."

"One would think that the paparazzi have better things to do than follow around my son when he's taking a walk through the park with his girlfriend," Malcolm muttered and suddenly, Moira felt like she was taken back to the time before Malcolm's wife had died. They had been friends back then; all of them.

Things had changed though and now they were all just using each other for their own ulterior motives.

"I had a hard time getting them off of Oliver's back when he came back home," Moira agreed. "They don't have anything better to do," she stated.

Malcolm remained quiet for a while until he met her eyes again, "You have a good day, Moira." With those words, he headed for the door, opening it, but then froze a second later.

Moira stood from her seat as she watched Oliver's Executive Assistant standing on the other side of the door, a stack of papers in her hand. She looked taken aback, clearly having not expected someone to open the door before she had been able to knock.

"Mr. Merlyn!" the blonde blurted out, eyes wide. "Tommy's father, right? I'm sorry, I recognize you from the news, I–"

"And you are?" Malcolm's eyes narrowed in on her as Moira stepped forward. No matter how she felt about Felicity, she wouldn't want Malcolm doing anything to actually hurt the woman, who until proven otherwise, had done nothing wrong.

"This is Felicity, Oliver's E.A.," she explained. "What can I help you with, Ms. Smoak," she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, uh," Felicity lifted the papers, "Oliver asked me to bring these to you. He told me to tell you that he'd signed them already, but that he would appreciate you looking through them one last time before you give your approval as well."

She'd said it all in one breath, which was rather impressive. Moira nodded at her, "You can put them on my desk and I'll read them through."

"Thank you, Mrs. Queen," Felicity smiled, making it that much harder for Moira to hold on to those unexplained suspicions that she held for the girl. Whenever Felicity smiled, there was some kind of innocence shining through her, and it made it really difficult for Moira to stay wary of the girl. "Mr. Merlyn, it was a pleasure to meet you," Felicity said, holding her hand out for Malcolm to shake.

He took it without any hint of hesitation, still looking intently at the girl, "Pleasure was all mine, Ms. Smoak."

The blonde offered them both one last smile before she turned around and walked away. Malcolm turned back to Moira and she could see the wheels turning inside of his head. Just when she thought he was going to say something, a mask of impassiveness covered his face. "Have a good day, Moira," he said, walking out of the office.

Moira closed her door and walked over to her desk, sinking into her chair as she let out a breath that she hadn't even known she had been holding.

-§-

Oliver watched as Felicity hurried back to her desk after he had asked her to take some files to his mother. There was a frown etched on her face and Oliver wondered whether his mother had said something to her.

His mother seemed to have backed away from Felicity these last two weeks and Oliver was hoping that it would stay that way. If Moira stayed away from the hybrid, he wouldn't constantly have to think about the possible outcomes of a confrontation, which would most likely lead to his own secrets unraveling.

Oliver stood up from his desk and walked out to Felicity, who was sitting in her chair, typing away on her keyboard with one hand while simultaneously flipping through something on her tablet.

"Everything go okay?" he asked, his index finger rubbing against the pad of his thumb.

"Yeah, everything went fine," Felicity replied calmly, looking up at him with a smile. "I bumped into Malcolm Merlyn though," she added thoughtfully.

"Tommy's dad was visiting my mother?" Oliver frowned.

"Yeah," Felicity drawled. "I didn't overhear their conversation though, if that's what you're wondering. I would never listen in on your mother or spy on her or anything else like that. Without your permission, I mean."

Oliver shook his head, an amused chuckle escaping, "Why would I ever need you to spy on my mother?"

"No idea," Felicity shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to put it out there."

Oliver nodded thoughtfully before speaking, "Did they say something to you?"

"No," Felicity replied. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Oliver quickly said. "You just came in here looking a little down, I guess, and I suppose I just wanted to..." he trailed off as she looked up at him with those bright blue eyes of hers. Another blinding smile spread across her face and he could have sworn that her eyes changed color into that mischievous golden tone of hers.

"Were you concerned for me, Oliver?" she asked him, her voice low and... _sultry?_

His mind went into hyper-mode almost instantly, replaying the images of her that usually haunted him at night.

Those very, _very_ inappropriate images.

"No!" he protested, maybe a little too quickly because Felicity's grin only widened and a light blush spread across her cheeks.

They looked at each other for a moment without saying anything. Oliver didn't want to be the first one to break, so he refused to look away or say anything else. He had a feeling that whatever he said would most likely be misinterpreted and he would end up flushed, which was something that was becoming a habit whenever Felicity was around.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to say or do anything, because he could hear the distinct sound of footsteps coming closer.

"Ollie?" Thea said as he walked into the room. Both Felicity and Oliver turned around at the same time to face the young brunette and in his mind, Oliver decided that he stare-down had ended as a draw. "What are you two up to?" Thea asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the two of them.

"Nothing," Felicity shrugged. "What are you doing here, Thea?"

Thea raised an eyebrow at the blonde, lips tugging up in a smile, "Nice to see you too, Felicity."

"Sorry," Felicity grinned back sheepishly.

"But the question remains," Oliver said. "What are you doing here, Speedy?"

"Worst nickname _ever_," Thea groaned, like she usually did whenever he called her that, rolling her eyes at him. "I came to ask you to lunch actually."

"Me?" Oliver frowned.

He and Thea used to get lunch together a lot after he returned from Lian Yu, but these last few weeks that his sister had become friends with Felicity, she had come to almost prefer the blonde hybrids company over his. He didn't exactly mind it anymore though, because he trusted Felicity with keeping Thea safe even if he wasn't there. The hybrid had made it clear just how protective she was of his sister since Thea's birthday party and he couldn't deny that he was thankful for that.

"Yeah, you," Thea giggled. "Although, Felicity could always join us, right?" His sister looked over at the blonde who turned to look at him.

"It's alright," Felicity stammered, "I wouldn't want to impose on your sibling bonding session."

"Oh, you wouldn't be imposing at all!" Thea said quickly. "Right, Ollie?" The younger Queen gave him a pointed look and he narrowed his eyes at her.

What was she doing?

"Of course not," he said after a seconds thought. "You can tag along, Felicity. You'll need to get yourself some lunch either way, won't you? This way we can make sure to get back on time; the both of us."

"You mean that _I _can make sure that _you_ get back on time?" Felicity deadpanned. "Because _I _am always on time."

Oliver shrugged as if to say 'whatever' and Felicity nodded slowly. He wanted Felicity to come with him and Thea, mostly to show his sister that he honestly couldn't care less about Felicity in the sense of a potential _something_. Even though his mother might have backed off of asking him about his relationship with his Executive Assistant, his sister hadn't yet given up on her quest to somehow force the two of them together. Since Tommy's engagement to Laurel had hit the news, Thea had let Oliver know _just_ how _perfect_ Felicity would be to have as a date for the wedding, which wasn't even planned yet. Felicity herself had told Oliver one night in the lair that his sister had started picking out dresses for her, even though she probably wouldn't even be invited to the wedding, whenever it came around. Oliver had accidentally let it slip that Thea had made it clear to him that she was assuming that he would be bringing Felicity as his plus one and the blonde hybrid had blushed at the comment.

He needed to show his sister that he and Felicity were nothing more than business partners, without somehow revealing his own secrets.

"Okay, I guess I'll join you," Felicity said, standing from her chair as she turned off her computers.

Oliver watched her as she bent down to reach for her shoulder bag that she had placed on the floor, trying not to focus on the way the fabric of her orange dress clung to her form. He turned his gaze away from her ass just in time to meet Thea's eyes, who had been watching him intently.

As the smirk spread on his sister's face, he realized that explaining the existence of the People of Darkness would probably be easier than trying to convince Thea that there was nothing going on between him and Felicity.

-§-

They went to a small Sushi place two blocks from Queen Consolidated. Oliver sat down on one side of the booth while Thea and Felicity squeezed in together on the other side. At first Thea had tried to not-so-subtly tell Oliver to sit next to Felicity, but Felicity had made up some lame excuse about how she would need to use the bathroom a thousand times because of some cold or something and that the seat next to Thea was closer to the ladies room.

Thea didn't seem to buy it, but didn't say anything else on the matter.

Everything was going good. They were talking and having a laugh as Thea told Felicity about some of the things that Oliver had done in his younger years. It surprised Oliver how incredibly infectious Felicity's laugh was and he even caught himself smiling genuinely a few times himself. Her eyes seemed to shine every time laughter vibrated through her and she squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners as she giggled at one of Thea's stories.

It was all well, until Felicity stood up to 'use the bathroom' (because she hadn't used it even once since they had sat down, which Thea had promptly pointed out). His hybrid- _The hybrid,_ turned around just as some guy, about Oliver's age, bumped straight into her, covering the front of her dress with raw fish.

Felicity squeaked out in surprise as Thea gasped. Oliver instantly stood up, reaching for Felicity who had stumbled back, almost tripping over her own feet. He caught her around the waist and looked down at her flushed face, "Are you okay?"

He had spoken so low that he was sure that Felicity was the only one who had heard him, due to her hybrid-hearing. Felicity nodded, the movement barely noticeable as she steadied herself on her feet.

"I'm so sorry," the man who had walked into her apologized. He reached for the napkins on their table, "I can help you clean up." It was clear that the man knew _very well _what he was doing as he moved toward Felicity's chest where most of the spill had ended up and Oliver immediately saw red. Oliver drew Felicity back, putting himself between her and the man who froze as his eyes widened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Oliver growled at him, eyes shooting arrows into the man's head.

"I-I'm sorry," the man stuttered as Oliver towered over him, seeing that there was nothing close to a sincere apology in the man's eyes. Oliver was at least a foot taller than the man who at least had the decency to blush furiously.

"I suggest you take a step back before I show you just how sorry you should be," Oliver glared.

"Oliver, it's okay," Felicity said, grabbing his arm.

The stranger's eyes flew over to Felicity before lowering, his gaze once again landing on the blonde's chest. Inside, Oliver felt his emotions flare up.

"Take your goddamn eyes off of her before I remove them myself with her fork," Oliver snarled, taking another threatening step toward the man.

He didn't even know what had come over him, but he was suddenly very aware of the entire restaurant having their eyes on the scene that was playing out. "I suggest, you apologize to the lady," Oliver bit out.

The look on the man's face darkened suddenly as he looked over at Felicity. "I'm sorry _lady_," he sneered. "I didn't know you had an asshole of a boyfriend."

Oliver started to draw back his arm to punch the stupid piece of shit in the face, but Felicity firmly held him back, clearly using her hybrid-strength.

"Hey," Thea suddenly blurted out, "just back off nicely before things get ugly."

The creep looked over at his sister, eyes traveling over her body. Oliver started to say something else, but Felicity beat him to it, "You better walk away before I show you just how much I don't need my _awesome boyfriend_ to defend my honor, when I can just kick your ass myself."

There was a gasp or two heard in the restaurant but Felicity paid no mind to it as she glared the creep down. Oliver's heart beat just a little bit faster when she had referred to him as her boyfriend, but he wasn't sure why. All he knew was that he really hoped that Felicity hadn't picked up on it, considering that she was most likely able to hear it and feel it, since she was still holding onto his arm, pulling him back.

The creep seemed to realize that he had embarrassed himself enough, so he just turned around and walked away. Felicity pulled Oliver back, pushing him to take his seat again as she slid into the booth, right next to him.

"What the hell was all that about?" she glared at him.

"Nothing," Oliver defended. "He almost _touched_ you, Felicity!" Oliver pointed out in a whisper-shout when she gave him that look that told him that she didn't believe him.

"So? Don't you think I could have handled him myself?" Felicity frowned.

"Well, you didn't really need to refer to me as your boyfriend," Oliver deadpanned, shooting her an equal glare.

"I just played the hand that was dealt," Felicity told him. "You were the one who wanted to punch the guy. I had it under control."

"Didn't look like you had it under control," Oliver snorted, rolling his eyes.

"I don't need you to _protect_ me, Oliver," Felicity snapped at him.

"I wasn't _protecting _you," Oliver retorted. "I was just–"

"_Okay_," Thea drawled, "why don't we just take a breath? The situation had been handled, so there's no need to talk about it anymore."

"Fine," Oliver said, still glaring down at Felicity.

"_Great,_" the blonde sarcastically remarked, looking as if she was ready to jump into another argument with him.

"But if you ask me, it _totally_ looked like you were jealous, Ollie," Thea added.

"_No one asked you!_"

Oliver turned back to stare at Felicity who had spoken at the same time as him. There was a pink tint on her cheeks as she refused to remove her gaze from him.

A sudden urge to do something bubbled up inside of him. He wasn't exactly unaccustomed to the feeling, because it had occurred to him several times since he had first met her. His heart was beating hard in his chest and he willed himself to calm down, but his eyes betrayed him as they flickered down to her fuchsia colored lips before once again meeting her bright blue irises.

He wanted to kiss her, and that thought alone was what made him finally look away from her, knowing that he needed to get himself under control before he made that spectacularly stupid mistake.

He glanced over at his sister, who was grinning from ear to ear and for the rest of their lunch, he remained awkwardly quiet, refusing to look at the blonde who didn't move from her new seat beside him.

All he knew was that he couldn't wait for this day to be over.

-§-

Later that evening Oliver was taking out his frustration on the dummies down in the Foundry as he prepared for going on a hunt for Christine Alpert. It was still early and he knew he had a few hours until the People of Darkness would start roaming the streets more openly, which meant that he had time to release some tension that had set in him during his long day.

The lunch he had shared with his sister and Felicity had gone from good to bad to awkward within less than an hour and he knew that most of it had been his own fault. Felicity had been right when she had told him that she could have handled the situation herself, but he would never admit it out loud to her because he was simply stubborn like that. What confused him the most though was his own reaction to the man that had been creeping on Felicity.

Why had he acted the way he had? Like a jealous boyfriend?

When he had begun his training session he had thought a lot about that. He blamed his reaction solely on being concerned that Felicity might lose her control or something, but he knew very well that if anyone was in control of her emotions, it was Felicity.

Truthfully, at times, he thought that the hybrid was better at keeping her emotions in check than he was, which was saying a lot considering that she was _a hybrid._

Instead of dwelling on that, his mind instead went to the other issue; his urge to kiss Felicity senseless. That one he blamed on their little argument at first, until he realized that it meant that he must have been somewhat turned on by said argument. Searching for another excuse though proved to be useless because even though Oliver might be good at lying to others, he wasn't very good at lying to himself.

"Hey, Oliver?"

He punched the dummy extra hard and then turned to face the blonde who had been occupying his thoughts. His breath was coming out in heavy pants and he knew that he would have to take a shower before he went out on his hunt tonight. As he eyed Felicity, he noticed that she had changed into her training clothes which consisted of a pair of dark gray yoga pants and a large black T-shirt.

"What are you wearing?" he grunted, looking over her attire.

She pulled a little on the T-shirt, playing with the hem of it. Was she nervous?

"I was thinking that maybe since Diggle won't be coming in tonight, the two of us could train together?" she suggested. "I mean, I could give you a better work out than those dummies, right?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and she quickly released the T-shirt she was holding onto. "And by 'work out', I actually do mean work out, as in training. Not any other form of physical activity that would also make us burn calories."

"Felicity–" Oliver started but was quickly interrupted by the hybrid who was too busy explaining herself to actually hear him say her name.

"I'm not saying that we would be working out to burn calories. It would be more of a stress-relief-kind-of-thing," she clarified. "Which doesn't sound any better now that I say it out loud."

"Felicity!" Oliver said loudly, trying to rid himself of the images of them doing _other physical activities to burn calories_ out of his head. "Just–" he took a breath and gave her a pointed look, "Just get on the mat."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up immediately.

"Yes, before I change my mind," Oliver groaned, turning around so that he could put away the dummy. When he turned back around, he froze momentarily as he watched her pull her shirt over her head, leaving her in a hot-pink sports bra with black stripes.

_Shit_.

Tearing his eyes away from the area that the garment covered, he cleared his throat, "So, how do you want to do this?"

"How about you attack and I evade and then we switch?" she suggested. "It can be good for you to practice taking down a hybrid, especially with the impending hybrid army coming around."

"Mhm..." he mumbled his agreement, not giving her a second to prepare as he launched.

Felicity proved to be quite a good training partner. He managed to keep his mind clear of any inappropriate thoughts for the better part of the first thirty minutes. She instructed him on a hybrids weaknesses and showed him what pressure points to push at if he ever ended up in hand to hand combat with one of the monsters. Using her hybrid speed, she showed him what advantages a hybrid would have over him, but despite those, he managed to pin her to the mat almost every single time.

When it was her turn to advance at him, he didn't hold back as he fought back, copying the way she had moved before. It was almost too easy to evade her attacks, which made him wonder if she was letting him win on purpose. He had seen her training with Diggle and he knew that she had been a lot smarter with her offense then.

"Don't hold back," he grunted as he dodged her punch, jabbing her in her elbow in return.

"What makes you think I'm holding back?" she panted, eyes glimmering yellow as she pounced at him, throwing punches at him. Her movements picked up in speed and he knew immediately that she was teasing him.

"You aren't a fighter," he told her. "You don't plan any of your movements. You're all over the place."

"I didn't know you needed to follow a manuscript in a fight," Felicity replied, jumping as she spun around, leg out to kick Oliver in the ribs. She almost managed to get the kick in, but he caught her foot, pulling her toward him in the last second.

The blonde struggled to balance herself out, bending the leg he had caught at her knee, which ultimately only led to her ending up pressed tightly against Oliver. They stared at each other, panting, chest to chest, noses almost brushing. One of Felicity's hands had ended up on Oliver's shoulder as she tried to keep her balance while Oliver's held onto her upper arm so that she wouldn't be able to get another hit in. The hand that was holding onto her calf slowly slid up to rest on the back of her thigh.

He wanted to say something about how she needed to be prepared for the unexpected when she was in a fight, but this time, he had caught himself off guard so he couldn't bring himself to utter any words. Instead, he remained staring at her almost dumbly, aching to know what was going through her mind.

"This is why I always win," he said suddenly, forcing himself out of his thoughts. "I see your sloppy moves and I predict what you're going to do next way too easily. You make yourself an easy target to take down by being predictable."

Felicity hummed lowly, gazing into his eyes. A smirk started spreading on her lips suddenly and all he knew was that he had seen her eyes turn golden and then he was suddenly laying on his back with Felicity on top of him, straddling him.

The hybrid had surprised him when she had pushed off the ground with her leg and wrapped that one around his waist, using both legs to hold onto him as she quickly twisted her upper body, using the momentum of his surprise an advantage when she pulled him back toward her. He had staggered when she had twisted and somehow, before her own back had hit the mat, she had flipped them over in the air so that Oliver had ended up below her.

Her knees now rested on either side of his body as she sat on his bare stomach. His hands were pinned above his head and he knew that even if he struggled to get free, she would only use her strength to keep him down.

"Maybe my tactic is being predictable so that my opponent doesn't see my _real_ attack coming?" she pointed out, sounding almost innocent. Her hair was sticking out in a few places, some shorter strands plastered to her face. He could see a bead of sweat slowly making its way from behind her neck toward her front as she loomed over him. The drop traveled slowly across her skin before disappearing under her sports bra.

"Clever," he admitted his defeat, voice hoarse as he tore his eyes away from the article of clothing that somehow always ended up getting his attention. Her grip on his wrists loosened and he acted on pure instinct when he rolled them over.

Her legs were still wrapped around his waist as he hovered over her, his hands now on her bare waist. The hybrid blinked up at him a few times, and suddenly, he was too much aware of how close their faces were.

Felicity's hands were pressed between their chests, palms plat on his and without thinking, his fingers tightened slight on her waist. Years could have passed for all that Oliver knew, but all he could see was the way that Felicity's tongue darted out to wet her lips.

The urge he had had earlier came back and it made Oliver realize just how foolish he had been to agree to train with Felicity. The strangest thing occurred to him though...

No matter how much he wanted to be able to say that the situation was awkward or unwelcome, he couldn't, because to be quite frank, it felt almost a bit too natural to be this close to Felicity.

Before he could say anything though, Felicity's voice broke through his thoughts.

"You should probably go take a shower and get ready for your hunt," she told him. "Christine Alpert is probably going to make her way toward the Black Rose within the witching hour, so you need to get going."

"Uh, yeah," he cleared his throat. "You're right."

Felicity's legs came to rest on the mat as she released her grip on him and Oliver quickly stood up. The hybrid leaned up on her elbows, still laying down as she looked up at him through still half-hooded eyes. He offered her his hands without thinking and she took it without any hint of hesitation.

After helping her stand up, they watched each other for another few seconds before he moved toward the bathroom. He needed to get out of the lair as soon as possible before he did something he was sure he would regret.

Still, before he entered the bathroom, he turned to give Felicity one last look, only to see her staring back at him, an absentminded and thoughtful look on her face.

-§-

"Christine Alpert," Oliver growled, the voice modulator changing his voice as he stared at the vampire in front of him that he had cornered a few blocks away from the Black Rose.

"The Hood," the vampire nodded curtly, acknowledging him without letting any emotions betray her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It has come to my attention that the People of Darkness are planning something for Starling City," Oliver said. "I want information and I figured that a lamia vampire such as yourself would be the best way to get it."

The vampire kept looking at him as if she was bored, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder, "Is that so? Care to enlighten me as to what these supposed plans are?"

"Someone is taking werewolves and turning them into hybrids," Oliver snapped. "I want to know who it is and where they take the wolves."

A grin spread on the vampires face as she walked toward him slowly. "Do I really look like I would give a damn about some _mutts_?" she asked him. "Why the hell would I help create more hybrids? That would just undermine my own authority in this city!"

"Tell me what you know!" Oliver demanded, not buying the vampire's words.

"_I don't think she knows anything,_" Felicity whispered in his ear.

"Tell me what you know about the Undertaking," Oliver said anyway, watching as the vampires eyes suddenly glazed over.

"The Undertaking?" she asked, her voice low. "I don't know where you get your information from, Hunter, but the Undertaking _clearly_ isn't what you think–"

A loud gasp escaped from the vampire as she staggered back. A black arrow was embedded inside of her chest and Oliver quickly turned around to look for the person who had shot it. He heard another arrow be released, this time seeing the source of it.

On top of a building, on the other side of the street, stood a man with almost entirely black clothes. A mask covered his face and the only thing Oliver could see from down in the alley was that the man held a bow in his hand.

"_What happened?_" Felicity wanted to know, but all Oliver could do was stare as the other archer slowly retreated from the rooftop. Oliver turned around and looked at Alpert who was laying flat on her back, two arrows embedded in her heart, her skin turned ashen and shriveled up.

"Alpert is dead," Oliver spoke into the comm-link.

"_Did you...?_" Felicity trailed off and Oliver's jaw tightened.

"No," he told the hybrid. "Someone else did."

-§-

"_The Hood strikes again! Tonight a woman was struck down by the Starling City vigilante a few hours after midnight in the Glades. Reports have been coming in all week long about the masked archer upping his game, killing people who have done nothing wrong in the eye of the public. Despite the police's search for the vigilante known as the Hood, a key member in the search team– Detective Quentin Lance– does not believe that these recent killing have anything to do with the vigilante, but rather a copycat killer–_"

Felicity turned down the volume on the computer as Detective Lance appeared on the screen, talking about how signs in his investigation pointed to someone copying the Hood's M.O.

"How did we miss this?" Felicity asked Oliver, who was standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest. "According to the data I've looked up, this copycat has been killing people from left to right all week long."

"The police have been thinking that the Hood has been responsible for the deaths," Oliver pointed out. "But you're right, we should have noticed if they talked about it on the news."

"First of all," Felicity began, "I don't particularly feel like 'the Hood' is a good name for you. I mean, sure, you wear a hood and all that, but couldn't people think about something a little more creative?" Oliver gave her a look and Felicity shrugged, "Either way... I checked out the previous murders and all of them have been people from the Glades who supposedly 'aren't important enough' to bring up on the news. Christine Alpert is a shareholder in some companies around Starling City, so her name had kind of been heard of before."

Felicity observed Oliver as he watched the screen intently, Detective Lance sharing his theory about a copycat. She could tell that the man in front of her was tired and it was obvious that whatever had gone down tonight in the Glades, he hadn't been expecting it. Who could have?

"I didn't have a chance to take out one of the arrows before the police showed up," Oliver told her. "The other archer must have tipped them off, but who knows if he actually knew that I would be there."

"I don't think he knew," Felicity contemplated out loud. "He was standing on the other side of the street, on top of a high building, as if he had been on his way to get Alpert but stopped when he saw you already confronting her."

"He killed her before she had a chance to give me any information on the Undertaking," Oliver said. "I could tell by the look on her face that she knew something, but now we'll never know unless we go to her superiors directly, which would be a huge risk all on its own."

"We could always look up Bertinelli, but I don't think he would be willing to talk considering that the person rumored to have turned him was killed tonight," Felicity said. "_Or_, we could go directly to the only person who seems to believe that you aren't the one behind _these_ killings."

She had thought about it the moment Quentin Lance had appeared on her computer screen, insisting that this wasn't the work of the Hood even though the rest of the police department thought it was. During the Unidac Auction she had seen that Detective Lance wasn't a bad man. He was probably one of the few in the police department that wasn't corrupted in some way by the People of Darkness, but that was probably because he seemed to have no idea that they actually existed.

"Lance, you mean," Oliver stated, looking at the screen as said man walked off the podium. "I hardly think he'll be willing to help me."

"You've gotten his help before though, right?" Felicity questioned anyway. She remembered that she had found evidence of the Hood working with the Detective before she joined Oliver's team.

"Those were during special circumstances," Oliver replied.

"It's worth a chance though," Felicity insisted. "If he really believes that it's the work of a copycat killer, he'll probably be more than willing to help."

"Lance can't know the truth about the People of Darkness though," Oliver said. "I don't think he would believe me even if I told him the truth."

"I'm always willing to prove that you're telling the truth," Felicity shrugged, internally not liking the idea of exposing herself like that, but deciding that if it ever came to it, she would do it wholeheartedly. "Besides, there have been human victims among this copycat's kills. Drug dealers, yes, but not supernatural ones in any kind."

"In that case, I guess I can see if Detective Lance is willing to borrow me one of those arrows that was used to kill Alpert," he said, opening a drawer to pull out a phone. "The last time I was forced to contact Lance, I used this phone. Hopefully, he hasn't thrown away the one I left him."

Pushing a few buttons, Oliver held the phone to his ear, waiting for the detective to pick up.

Felicity turned back around as she began her hack on the police department to see if they had anything to add with their on-going investigation.

-§-

Oliver stood on the rooftop of the police department, waiting for Lance to arrive. He had been skeptic at first about Felicity's suggestion that he contacted the detective, but Lance hadn't sounded surprised when he had given him the call.

"I was expecting to hear from you soon," a voice that he recognized as the Detective's was heard behind him. Oliver turned around slowly, making sure to bow his head a little in order for the shadows to hide his face even more.

"I'm not the one who killed Alpert," Oliver said, his voice coming out modified due to the voice modulator.

"I know," Lance returned. "I've been trying to tell my superiors the same, but they don't seem willing to accept my theory of a copycat."

Oliver remained still, prepared for any type of ambush (which wouldn't be the first time when it came to his meetings with Quentin Lance). Oliver still felt horrible for the pain he had caused Quentin when he had caused the death of his youngest daughter, Laurel's sister, Sara. In a way, Oliver knew that Lance had every reason to hate Oliver Queen, and sometimes, he wondered whether that hate had been transformed into a hate for the Hood, even if the detective technically wasn't aware of his secret identity.

Lance watched him for a moment before sighing, "I'm breaking a lot of laws by giving you this, but I have no other choice if we're going to catch Ms. Alpert's _real_ killer." He held out a container and Oliver reached for it, opening it to see the black arrow from the other archer.

"Thank you, Detective," Oliver said. "Whatever I find, I'll bring it to you."

"Yeah, yeah," Quentin muttered. "Do me a favor and try to catch this bastard alive so that we can actually put him on trial."

Oliver didn't say anything. Instead, he ran to the ledge of the building, using one of his special arrows to swing across the street and land safely close to his hidden motorcycle, driving back to his secret lair where Felicity was waiting for him.

-§-

Oliver walked into the warehouse, arrow nocked and bow raised, prepared for any kind of threat.

It had taken Felicity less than five minutes to find the arrow's shipment information and trace the location of the delivery. Oliver had been impressed by her, to say the least and he would probably never forget the look on the blonde's face when he had told her that she had done a good job.

Felicity had insisted that he wait for Diggle, or at least allow her to come with him, but Oliver had refused. Something as important as eliminating this other archer couldn't wait and he didn't really think he had a choice in the matter.

He needed to do this alone.

"_Oliver,_" Felicity sounded in his ear. "_Dig is here. Don't do anything stupid._"

"I don't need a distraction," Oliver growled, doing exactly what he knew Felicity feared he would do; he turned off the comm-link without any hesitation.

He could imagine the frustrated looks on both Diggle's and Felicity's faces, but he meant what he had said. He couldn't have them talking in his ear when he needed to be aware of everything around him. Yao Fei and Slade had taught him to always mind his surroundings and that lesson had saved his life on multiple occasions.

Of course, his plan on minding his surroundings pretty much went to hell when he entered one hallway, only to find a man wearing all black in front of him, bow raised, aiming straight at Oliver.

Taking in the man's features, Oliver realized that he wasn't much bigger than him, if he even _was_ bigger; it was hard to tell from the black suit he was wearing.

The man's face was covered, only a small spring open for his eyes to be able to see, but he was too far for Oliver to actually notice anything particular that might be useful in identifying him.

"Finally," the masked man said, "I've been waiting to cross paths with you."

Much like Oliver, he was using some kind of device to disorient his voice. Oliver tightened his grip on his bow, now understanding what Felicity had once said about the voice modulator being creepy. It was bad enough that he couldn't actually look this foe in the eyes, so it was even worse that he couldn't hear his real voice. At least then, the opponent might seem a little bit more human.

"What do you want?" Oliver growled, holding his bow up and ready for a fight.

A robotic chuckle sounded in the small hallway, making chills rise inside of Oliver, "What every archer wants; to see who's best."

With those words, the man in the dark clothes moved so quickly that Oliver barely had time to react. After releasing an arrow, the other archer instantly nocked another one, sending that one flying in Oliver's direction as well. Oliver was forced to both dodge and jump, while at the same time retaliating with two arrows of his own.

Somehow, they ended up in another room, scaling the various containers and walls, trying to get the upper hand of each other. Oliver could tell by the way that the other man was fighting that he was human, but he was well trained and he put up a good fight.

Oliver tried to anticipate his next move, but he ended up miscalculating and received a punch in his gut. They had left the arrows behind, it seemed, as they engaged in hand to hand combat instead. The other arched moved quickly and Oliver wondered briefly if he had been wrong; the speed in his movements would suggest a supernatural creature, but of course, a human too could have been trained to have this kind of quick responses.

Oliver didn't know how it happened, but he suddenly he staggered to the cold floor, screaming in agony as the archer kicked him in the ribs, over and over again. Just as he was about to stand up, to keep fighting even though his arms ached and his hands trembled and cold sweat had covered him from top to toe, he heard how the other archer released another arrow which ended up in his right shoulder, not far from the spot that Yao Fei had once shot him through.

Oliver screamed out, pain coursing through him once again and he felt how the blood was already seeping through his green suit. In the distance, he heard a low chuckle and footsteps as the other archer calmly walked away from the scene, but he could barely breathe through the pain, much less do anything to stop him from going.

He reached up to his ear, activating the comm-link once again.

"_Oliver!_" Felicity's voice rang out immediately, worry etched in it along with a thousand other emotions that Oliver didn't want to decipher.

"Felicity... Send me Diggle... I'm..." he grunted out, trying to take a breath, but the air seemed to be knocked out of his lungs.

"_He's already on his way,_" Felicity told him, a slight tremble in her voice. "_Oliver, stay with me_. _Just, don't close your eyes, okay? Focus on my voice._"

Oliver's eyes felt heavy though, as they slowly fluttered shut. He could feel his strength leaving him completely, the pain going numb.

"Mhm..." he mumbled in agreement, but he ended up closing his eyes anyway.

The last thing he thought of before darkness embraced him, was how he wanted to tell Felicity that she had a nice voice, and that he actually didn't mind listening to her when she talked.

-§-

When Oliver later came to, he slowly opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. Immediately, he recognized the walls of the Foundry, and for a mere moment, he wondered how he had gotten there. He felt sore and all he wanted was to just lay back down and fall asleep, but he couldn't, especially since he didn't even remember what had happened.

"Hey," a small voice said, somewhere in the back of the lair. Oliver turned his head and was met by the sight of a slowly approaching Felicity.

Her hands were wrapped around herself as she moved toward him, looking at him worriedly. She came to stand next to him and he suddenly became aware of the fact that he was laying in her bed; the little cot that he had gotten her when she first began sleeping there.

"How are you feeling?" Felicity asked, her voice low. She raised her hand, resting it against his forehead, an action that seemed to have been almost automatic for her. Her eyes widened slightly and he realized that he must have given her a surprised look that made her realize what she was doing. When she began pulling her hand back though, Oliver reached up and caught her wrist, keeping her hand in place on his forehead. He groaned when pain surged through him from his side, most likely a broken rib or two, and then proceeded to close his eyes.

"Leave it there," he muttered, trying not to think about how weak he sounded. "Your hand is cold. It feels nice."

"You're really hot," Felicity breathed out in a sigh and despite the pain, Oliver's lips quirked up of their own accord. "As in _warm_. Like, you might have a fever or something and I should probably check it since Diggle gave me strict instructions to do so."

Oliver opened his eyes again and looked at her, happy to see the crimson coloring her cheeks, making the deadly hybrid look human.

"Where is Diggle?" Oliver frowned, mostly because his partner would have shown himself by now if he was actually in the lair.

"After he brought you back here and we patched you up, he had to go back to the warehouse," Felicity replied. "You lost a lot of blood and he had to remove all traced of you ever being there in case the police came around. We wouldn't want them getting any of your DNA, now would we, Mr. Arrow."

There was some teasing laced in her tone, but Oliver knew that she was being serious.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Mr. _Arrow_?"

The blush on Felicity's cheeks only deepened slightly, "Yeah. As I told you once or twice, I don't particularly find the nickname 'the Hood' flattering and 'Arrow' sounds a lot better in my ears. More like a hero."

Oliver could only stare at her.

This hybrid, who he had started out by hating, who then had earned his trust in her own way, just like she had sworn that she would. The monster who somehow felt the need to protect his younger sister and who stood by him, even when he had said some awful things to her since they had first met.

And now she was calling him a hero.

"I'm not a hero," he insisted, but Felicity only smiled at him, almost a little sadly.

"You will be," she replied confidently. "I can almost bet on it."

Their eyes met and Oliver suddenly had one of those urges again; the ones where he wanted to just pull her close and hold her, no matter what he thought about her kind.

"I should probably check that wound of yours," Felicity said thoughtfully. Oliver's eyes lowered to where she was looking, at the bandage that went around his entire right shoulder.

"I can do it myself," Oliver offered as he sat up, but he moved a little too quick and he couldn't keep in the wince and the small string of curses that escaped his lips at the pain.

"Uh, yeah, no," Felicity shot him a glare, "John told me to look after you while he was gone, and I don't intend to let down Mr. Diggle."

She moved away from him when she made sure that he could sit properly without falling over, his feet now resting on the floor as he sat on the end of her small bed. He wondered how he had even fit on it, but he didn't want to dwell on it too long as he watched Felicity move around the lair.

The blonde hybrid gathered the supplies that she would need to check his wound and re-dress the bandage, and then quickly walked back to him, pulling a chair with her. Sitting down in front of him, she slowly began unwrapping the bandage that was already tied around him.

"How long was I out?" Oliver wondered, trying not to think about how cool Felicity's fingers felt against his hot skin. "Has Diggle been gone for long?"

"He left just fifteen minutes ago," Felicity replied. "He called and told me he would be a while since you and that other archer messed that warehouse up pretty bad. Somehow though, it seems like only your DNA can be found..."

"He was covered from head to toe," Oliver explained. "Not really sure how he would have left a fingerprint or anything that could be used to identify him. Unless of course he dropped a stand of hair–"

"–which would be impossible to find without the right equipment," Felicity finished, meeting his gaze. "Yeah, Diggle and I already concluded that. As to your first question, you've been passed out for three hours since Diggle brought you back here. At first we were worried that you might need to be taken to the hospital, but we decided that we could handle your injuries ourselves. I just hope we did a good job."

"I feel okay," Oliver lied and she shot him a skeptic look.

"You feel like hell, Oliver, so why don't you just admit that and stop trying to downplay your injuries," Felicity said, shaking her head at him.

Silence rested between them as she worked on getting his bandage off, cleaning the wound that would most likely end up becoming yet another scar on his already marred body. Her touch was soft and more than once Oliver caught his own gaze linger on her face as she focused on the wound.

"You know," Felicity said, startling him out of his thoughts, "when I was captive, I heard a lot of stories from the guards and the other captives, at least until they put me in confinement."

She didn't even look at him as she spoke, reaching for some cotton and the antiseptic, gently dabbing it on his injury. Bandaging him up went a little faster and then she looked up at his face, frown once again appearing. "I should probably clean those too," she muttered and he realized what he must look like. The other archer had gotten in a good punch to his face as well, so if he was planning on going home tonight, he should probably make himself a little more presentable even though his mother and sister wouldn't be dumb enough to miss his injuries.

He gave her his permission with a small nod and Felicity moved to get a small rag as she started cleaning her face.

"What kind of stories?" he asked her after a while, deciding that he could use the distraction from the stinging that ensued when she dabbed his cheek with the antiseptic.

"About the archer," she mumbled, her eyes not moving from the small cut on his cheek. "There was one about the green archer who saved innocents, making it difficult for the vampire community to find their prey in the city." Felicity's lips quirked up, "I always liked that one; how he seemed to stick it to them when they were asking for it."

Oliver's own lips tugged up in a small smile and he recalled how she had referred to him as hero, just a few moments ago.

"There was always a hint of fear in their voices when they talked about him, _the Hood_," she scrunched her nose up at the nickname, once again showing her distaste for it, "but once I turned into a hybrid, I could smell it on them even more clearly." Oliver winced when Felicity dabbed the cut on his lip and she offered him an apologetic look. "There was another story though, and it took a little time for me to understand that it was a different one," Felicity continued. "A different story than the first; a story of a Dark Archer, killing Dark Ones and humans with no remorse."

Oliver caught Felicity's eyes as he realized what she was saying. "The other archer," he concluded.

Felicity nodded, "They say that he hasn't been as active as the Hood, but they fear him equally. At least when it comes to you, they know that you're protecting the people of Starling City. This other man, whoever he is, is killing both humans and Dark Ones. What purpose does he have, what does he even want?"

Oliver watched her for a while and Felicity didn't remove her gaze from his. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked her. "If you suspected that this was the other archer that they talked about, why didn't you tell me?"

"To be honest, I forgot about it," Felicity answered. He could tell that she was embarrassed by it and that she hated that she hadn't been of more help and deep down, Oliver might be a little annoyed, but he knew that if Felicity had known all along what kind of a man he was hunting, she would without a doubt have told him what she knew. "Some of my memories aren't that clear," she explained. "I was in-and-out of consciousness for a long time after I turned and some of the things I heard are shambled up and blurry. I had a bad feeling about tonight, but I never would have expected that this copycat killer was the Dark Archer that the guards spoke about."

Oliver didn't say anything, just watched her face, his eyes dropping to her lower lip when she caught it between her teeth. Inside of him, that feeling was stirring and it made him just want to shut down completely.

For a moment, he wanted to just put everything on pause; all his knowledge of the People of Darkness, all the worries he had about Felicity and all the things that had happened tonight when he hadn't listened to her and shut off his comm-link. All he wanted, was to reach for her, tangle his fingers in the loose blonde curls at the nape of her neck and pull her closer to him.

Whether it was a simple urge that had surfaced when his dreams about the hybrid began, or if it was a wish his heart kept secret until now, he didn't know, but the only thing he could see in that moment was Felicity.

He caught sight of his own hand moving toward her cheek, undoubtedly reaching to cup her face, and stopped himself, his brain once again setting in motion. Instead of touching her cheek like his fingers seemed to itch to do, he placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, forcing his eyes to meet her blue ones that seemed to be shining.

"What happened tonight wasn't your fault, Felicity," he told her. "I was reckless, thinking I could handle it all by myself and I should have waited for Diggle as backup. I shouldn't have shut off the comm."

"We could play the blame game all night, but it doesn't change the fact that you'll still need to come up with a pretty good cover story for that busted up lip of yours," Felicity tried to joke lightly, as if she could sense that their conversation was heading into deeper territories. It was a good thing that he wasn't the only one who didn't want to get too close, Oliver figured, but a small part of him still wished that Felicity hadn't immediately tried to play it cool and joke about the situation.

Although, that didn't mean that he wasn't grateful for her change of topic.

"Crazy night in the club gone wrong?" he suggested, making the blonde chuckle.

"I think we've used that one too many times already," she replied, a small smile playing on her lips.

"We'll make something up," he smiled back at her, feeling that the conversation had gone traveled into a lighter place.

He still didn't want to think about all the things that had happened during that day; everything from the awkward lunch with Thea where he had expressed some feelings that he hadn't ever wanted his sister to witness, to the even more awkward training session with Felicity.

Although, the training session hadn't been awkward exactly, but it had been _charged_ and Oliver would never be able to fool himself into thinking that it hadn't been. There was something there, between him and Felicity, but he didn't want to know what it was. Everyone around him seemed to think that it was some kind of crush, but Oliver found it ridiculous that a grown man like himself would have such a thing on another human being.

But Felicity wasn't human, he reminded himself; she was a hybrid.

That, however, didn't make him want to call this thing between them a crush any more. _Whatever _it was– a connection, an unexplainable attraction– he didn't want to acknowledge it, even though he deep down knew that a part of it already had.

"Oliver," Felicity whispered, her eyes lowering to the floor between them. "There is way for you to not have to come up with _any _kind of story."

Her words brought him back to reality, where he was still looking intently at her, his hand resting on her shoulder. He could tell that she was hesitating and he wondered what it was that was making her twitch so nervously suddenly.

"What?" he asked, wanting her to voice whatever it was that she was thinking about.

"My blood could heal you," she explained, her voice still low and she wasn't looking at him. Instead, she was playing with the cotton in her hands that she had used to clean his cuts. "Hybrid blood would make all your wounds heal and you wouldn't be in pain anymore."

"_No_," Oliver said, perhaps a little too quickly because Felicity looked up at him, meeting his eyes with a hurt expression on her face. She looked at if he had just told her that her suggestion was the most disgusting thing he had ever heard; like she had just rejected _her_, as a person and not only her blood. "No," he repeated, this time a little calmer, squeezing her shoulder again. "Thank you for the offer, Felicity, but I really wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that there was hybrid blood in my system. With the things I have to do every day, the risk of turning would be too great. You know that I would turn if I died."

"I know," Felicity bit her lip. "I was just hoping that we would be optimistic enough to believe that you would survive those twenty-four hours it would take for my blood to pass through your system." Oliver's lips tugged up again when he saw her visibly relax. "Also, there are other ways to turn," she said, almost absentmindedly.

Oliver thought about all the things he had learned during his years away and during the time that he had been back in Starling City. He knew the things that his mentors had told him about the People of Darkness, and he had witnessed a couple of turns himself, but he knew she was right. There were too many monsters in the world and every last one of them had a different way to turn.

Just turning someone into a hybrid could be done at least three different ways that he knew of and once again, Oliver found himself wondering how Felicity had been turned. What had she been before she was turned? How had she grown up?

_Who was she?_

"Felicity," he breathed out her name without actually meaning to. Her eyes focused on him again and he swallowed the questions that he wanted to ask; perhaps another time. "Thank you for being here tonight, for helping."

His gratitude seemed to surprise her but another smile appeared on her face as that little blush appeared again, making Oliver's insides melt without his permission.

"Any time, Oliver," she replied as she packed up the medical kit again, raising from the chair so that she could put it back in place. "You should lay down and rest until Diggle comes back. He'll help you get home safely."

He wanted to protest, knowing that it was her bed that he was laying in, but he could feel his exhaustion coursing through him again, clouding his mind. "Okay," he nodded, groaning a little as he began laying down again.

Felicity was by his side instantly, having used her hybrid speed to reach him faster. Her hand was on his shoulder as she helped him ease down on the mattress and it remained there, even after he was situated.

Yet again, their eyes collided and time seemed to stand still for a moment before she spoke again.

"I'm glad you're okay, Oliver," she finally said, gently squeezing his shoulder before walking away to keep cleaning.

Oliver stared after her for a while before looking up at the ceiling, quietly wondering if he gave her the same comfort when he squeezed her shoulder, as she had just given him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Note: Mhmm, that's right, Malcolm Merlyn has made an appearance now and he even crossed paths with our dear hybrid! And the Dark Archer is in the picture, but as you can all probably guess, we won't be seeing more of him until later on in the <span>first<span>**_** part of this story...**

**So, what did you like the most about this chapter? Did you catch anything that might be foreshadowing? If you did, good for you, because there was A LOT of it in this chapter! ;) Don't forget to tell me what you liked in a comment! :)**

**Oh, and I just want to add that there might not be an update next week, because I'm going to try to write a couple of chapters before I start posting again. But of course, it all depends on how much schoolwork I have and if I get any reviews for this chapter! *wink wink***

**Thank you so much for reading! I love you guys! :)**


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